


The Sun and The Moon

by gardendryer



Category: The Brave (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-04-24 11:21:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 18
Words: 50,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14354436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardendryer/pseuds/gardendryer
Summary: With three words, she pulled his team in on a mission that change everything, but he would do anything for his sister.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The is crossed published with Fanfiction.net

The Sun and The Moon…

Andromeda = The Chained Maiden

Pegasus = The Winged Horse

Constellations tell a story. They are engrained into the myths and legends of the world. They tell the history, both triumph and loss.

Prolog:

_Spring 2005_

_Adam “Top” Dalton had returned home safe after finishing his first overseas tour and needed the quiet peace of his uncle’s farm. The routine labor of tending to the farm chores: feeding the chickens, mucking the stalls, and tending the vegetable garden his aunt kept at the back of the old farm house soothed his mind and calmed the anxiety of being home and away from the constant action he had grown accustomed to over the previous eighteen months. It also reminded him of the few fond memories of his childhood._

_It was a snowy early spring morning, his uncle had gone to town and his aunt had gone to work at the local hospital, when there was a knock on the front door. Adam had just finished pouring his first cup of coffee and set it down to glance out the window to the left of the door. A young girl with dark brown hair and a pale pink knit hat on was shuffling her feet looking nervous. His nerves tingled in anticipation for a fight after spending too many months in a hostile environment, but realized he was stateside and a teenager here didn’t necessarily mean hostile._

_Pulling the door open, “Can I help you?” he demanded in a tone that gave little room for interpretation. He was in no mood for company or someone trying to sell something._

_“Hi, I’m looking for Adam Dalton, does he live here?” she was looking up at him with blue eyes that were so similar in color to his father and his hackles rose in response._

_“Whose asking?” His grip tightened on the door knob ready to slam the door in her face._

_“I’m his sister,” she confessed twisting her gloved hands together. He was clearly making her more nervous, but she continued to meet his eye._

_“You are not my sister,” He responded immediately. He immediately regretted giving away who he was, another sign he needed to be left alone._

_“You’re Adam?” Her face brightening before looking into his eyes and seeing the hostility. Immediately, she stepped back, gripping the strap of her backpack tighter._

_“You are not my sister.” He insisted even as the more he looked at her, the more he saw his own father._

_“I’m Andrea Dalton, but everyone calls me Andy. My father and your father are the same.” Her eyes showed any hope she had at a friendly greeting was fading fast._

_“My father is dead. So how do I know if you are telling the truth?” he demanded crossing his arms across his chest._

_She pulled the cream-colored mittens from her hands and stuffed them in her coat pockets before reaching into the backpack on her shoulder and pulling a folded piece of glossy paper from its depths. She carefully unfolded the picture and turned it to show a woman with blue eyes and the same dark brown hair holding a screaming newborn and his father, bent proudly around the woman and a twinkle in his eye. He was smiling, and his eyes looked clear enough to know he was sober._

_“Right after I was born, he told my mother that he had been cheating on his wife with her and that was why he wouldn’t marry her. He didn’t believe in divorce, but his relationship with her had not meant to turn into a lifetime commitment in the form of a kid. My mother was heartbroken and raised me on her own.” She explained this with clinical detachment and when he looked at her, he could tell there was more to the story. He could also tell that there was an edge of resentment at her father abandoning her._

_He debated internally about inviting her in and turning her away. Dealing with family drama was the last thing he wanted during his leave, but there was little use in denying they were related. Clearly, she had done some research before coming to see him._

_“Come inside, we’ll talk.” He stepped aside and allowed her the space to come in out of the cold and snow._

_She walked through the door and made sure to scrape her boots free of as much snow as possible. Her dark hair clung to her cheek when she removed her coat and stuffed the pink hat inside the sleeve and handed to him. He hung it on the coat tree beside the door and lead her back to the eat-in kitchen with its large rectangular table with bench seats on either side._

_“Do you drink coffee?” He asked as he reached into the cupboard for another cup. She nodded, and he poured the black liquid and left enough room for cream and sugar. He reached to grab the sugar before he heard her pipe up, “I take it black.” Setting the sugar down, he smiled and set both their mugs down._

_“You’re probably wondering how I found you.” Andy twisted her fingers in her lap and then reached to warm her hands on the coffee mug. She was looking up at him, but not quite able to look him in the eye now that she had made it in the front door._

_“It was one of many questions.” Adam studied her nervous movements and smiled a little to himself because it reminded him of his oldest sister, Claire._

_“My mother passed away last week. I’ve been staying with my aunt, but she is battling cancer and doesn’t have long.” She explained again with that clinical detachment. Her coffee mug remained steady, but she seemed unable to look him directly in the eye as she confessed._

_“Look I…” He interrupted already anticipating the request for help._

_“I’m not asking you to take care of me. I know you already have two other sisters and that your other sister died because of our father. You don’t know me, and you don’t need me tagging along interrupting your family. I get it. I have taken care of myself this far and I will continue to do so.” For the first time, she didn’t sound nervous. She sounded defiant and even a little angry._

_Adam smiled a little and looked at this girl in front of him, wondering what to say to make it easier on her. Andy was being brave enough to open herself up, but also knew not to expect much. He wasn’t exactly in the best frame of mind to help someone discover themselves._

_“So then, why did you come here?” It was the easiest question to ask her. It would probably give him the most answers._

_“I am an only child, or so I thought, my mother’s only sister is dying, and I have no one else. I was looking for family. I don’t expect open arms given the fact that my mother was apparently our father’s mistress. I’m not naive enough to believe that you won’t throw me out of here once your questions are answered. I know that you probably don’t want to answer questions about him and you probably want me to leave, but your mother probably raised you to hear someone out. I’m sure you’re curious too.” She said all of this with open honesty and her hands still wrapped securely around the coffee mug in front of her. Her blue eyes so similar to his own never left his._

Well, damn. _He thought this wasn’t going to be as simple as listening to her story and sending her on her way, ignoring his father’s indiscretion and moving on with his life; looking at her, he knew that he couldn’t ignore her. She’d pegged him, and she’d just met him. Somewhere deep inside, he added her to his list of responsibilities before he was even conscious that he was doing it._

_“Okay, start from the beginning.”  
_


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one... Enjoy!

Chapter 1:  
 _3 Months following Alex Hoffman mission…2018_

Dalton lifted the ax again and brought it down once more on the log in front of him, splitting it in two with a satisfying clunk. He set the ax down against the stump he’d been using and picked up the two pieces that he added to the pile by the fire pit. He looked at the three-foot-tall pile of wood he had managed to chop that afternoon and lifted the ax to his shoulder and walked over to his shed. The ax was returned to its place on the wall and he locked up the shed before returning to his cabin. 

Standing on the front porch and staring out over the tree covered land he smiled at the difference a couple months could make. His usual view was a flat plain of browns and reds dotted with the occasional green shrub, but here there was a sharp and craggy feel to the land covered in pine trees. It smoothed the rough edges that kept sleep from being entirely peaceful for him even after months of being home. Taking a deep breath of the fresh pine scented air, he walked inside and smiled down at Patton, the insubordinate dog that had been allowed to follow him home from Turkey. The dog had grown on him during his last deployment and he didn’t want to leave him behind. The team had been right that when it came to the dog, he was a softy. He would never admit it to them though.

Out of habit, he picked up the cell phone he had left lying on the table and checked it for messages. Finding none, he went about making a fresh pot of coffee and cooking some scrambled eggs. He needed to make a run to town for real groceries as it was third meal that day that involved eggs, but his time at home was growing short and he didn’t want to have to figure out what to do with a bunch of groceries if they got called back early. His team wasn’t due back to DC until the end of the month. They would have their final evaluation as to whether Chief Petty Officer Ezekiel “Preach” Carter would be returning to duty with them or not. Then they would return to Turkey either as a team of five or a man down and he forced to pick someone from the list he had been sent by Patricia. Admittedly, he hadn’t opened it yet.

Preach’s coma had lasted only a few days, but his injuries had been bad enough that he was not cleared yet for active duty. Adam still felt the bubble of rage and helplessness that had plagued him those days waiting for his closest friend to wake up. Thankfully, when he did, his mental faculties seemed to be fully intact. His lungs, they were a different story.

Once the team had debriefed in DC and seen their friend delivered safely home to southern California, they had disbanded for their leave and kept in touch via email, text and phone calls. Last report he heard from Joseph “McG” McGuire, he had returned home to see his mother in Montana and working the farm he had bought before their last deployment. Amir Al-Raisani had continued to travel after a short visit to Lebanon to see his own family and the last text he had gotten was from London. The final member of the team had been more elusive in her travel plans. Jasmine “Jaz” Kahn had briefly mentioned going home to New York to see her mother, but she texted him a week after they had separated that it had been a bad idea. She sent picture of her plane’s wing in the clear blue skies, but not her destination.

Jaz sent him a new picture each day of something random she had found that day. One of her more memorable ones had been the stingray she had managed to catch just off the coast of southern Florida, the name on the boat pointing to a marina in that area when he looked it up and her hands holding the fishing pole the only way he knew it was her catch. There were never words, just pictures. The pictures were also never of her. In return he sent pictures with a view from his latest fishing spot or of Patton lying belly up on the front porch. She would send back emojis of her approval.

This leave was different between them. In years past, she remained quiet and only responded to group text messages or when she found something “epic” and would blast their phones for hours before going silent for days. This time, the only words exchanged were during the two phone calls he had made to give her an update on Preach. Those phone calls were brief, and fairly one sided in his favor. She never missed a daily picture, but the silence was troublesome even when she had been teased by McG.

As he was finishing the dishes after his light dinner, Patton had jumped off the couch, moving towards the door with a low growl. “Patton, what is it?” Years of training had him reaching for the shotgun he kept by the door, just as his phone chimed with Jaz’s ringtone, indicating she had just sent him her daily picture. He pulled the phone from his back pocket as Patton whined, his fur settling down, he opened the picture and frowned. The picture was of his fire pit, recognizable by the Adirondack chair he often sat in. 

He yanked the heavy wooden door open and saw her kneeling by the fire pit, setting logs in place to start a bonfire. Patton took off running towards her when he opened the door and she turned to greet the happy dog with a smile. Patton was shaking with excitement while Adam had stood rooted to the front porch. He had not realized how much he missed her, until she stood in front of him for the first time in months. Her dark brown eyes looked unsure in the waning sunlight, and she continued to scratch Patton’s ears, but her eyes were on him. He took a deep breath as he studied her trying to decide if he could walk up to her.

“Hi Top,” she greeted him with a tentative smile. She pushed an errant piece of hair behind her ear, caught by the breeze.

Jaz had no idea why she was nervous, it wasn’t like she hadn’t come to the cabin before, but it had been the longest stretch of not seeing him in over three years. She had grown so accustomed to his presence along with the others that she couldn’t wait the three weeks they had left of leave. They were her family, and she had missed them. She hoped that she had not interrupted something.

“Jaz,” he returned finally stepping off the porch and walking over to her. He stopped when he was three feet in front of her, not trusting himself to get closer, and noticed the duffle at her feet. “What are you doing here?” He asked the question casually, but the blurry line they had drawn between them loomed in his mind. He missed that smile.

“I was hoping I could crash here for a couple days. I needed a friendly face,” she explained handing him a beer from the six pack she’d brought with her as a peace offering in case he wasn’t thrilled to have company.

“Everything okay?” He knew she would probably not answer but asked the question anyway because sometimes she surprised him.

“Not really.” Surprise won. He studied her more carefully.

She didn’t meet his eye as she turned to light the fire she had set up using the lighter he had left on the table earlier in the day. Once it caught she stood and looked him in the eye again. That’s when he saw the shadows under her eyes and that she looked thinner since the last time he saw her. He also noticed a faint bruise along her jaw line.

He stuffed his free hand into his pocket to keep from reaching out and studied her carefully. “Talk to me.”

She looked away and up at the sky above them. “Not yet. Can we just watch the stars come out?” Her eyes met his and she could see he wanted to push, but also knew that he wouldn’t press for now.

Adam motioned to the pair of Adirondack chairs and she moved aside her duffle and the beer. It was still cold despite the days growing longer and he saw her shiver as she huddled into her thin coat with her own beer. He sat beside her, sipping his own beer, but instead of staring at the stars, he studied her.

“You look tired,” Jaz stated while still looking up at the stars. He smirked at her observation, because he could say the same thing.

“Been chopping wood most of the day.” She nodded in response knowing that wasn’t the only reason but not questioning the half-truth. “How did you get here?” he asked realizing he didn’t see her ride.

“I hiked up from the road. I needed to work off the frustrating plane trip from L.A.” The first kernel of truth and honesty.

“L.A.? Were you visiting Preach?” He thought Preach would have mentioned her visiting when they had talked the day before.

“No, I didn’t want to bug him. I swung by the house and he was being fussed over by his oldest. He looked happy.” She looked over at him with a small smile. “It was good to see him smiling again.”  
Dalton nodded in understanding and took a long pull from his beer. “You want to tell me how you got that bruise?” he questioned as he studied her with his steady gaze that she met unflinchingly.

She smirked and took sip. “I was sparring in a local gym in Pittsburg a week ago and a guy got a lucky shot in. Lesson learned for him.” Nugget number two.

Dalton smiled as he pictured her kicking the ass of whoever had landed the punch. Then he sobered taking in the rest of her appearance. “And what else?” 

Jaz looked down at her hands because she knew that he wasn’t going to let her just brush off the question. The truth was, she felt lost. She was worried that when their next rotation started, Preach wouldn’t be there and the dynamic would change. Her concern was not just for Preach, but all of them. Preach was a steadying force for them when they tended to get hot headed. He was one of the few people Dalton let get close. Probably because Preach had worn him down over the last decade, but when Alex Hoffman had hurt his family, he had gone off the rails without Preach to hold him back. They had all known where he had disappeared to for those unaccounted hours, but they never spoke of those hours after. It felt like a black cloud hanging over them.

“Why didn’t you tell one of us where you went?” Jaz asked the question quietly, but out in the middle of nowhere, she knew that his sharp hearing registered the question.

It was his turn to look unsure. Her question had thrown him off because he wasn’t expecting it, but he should have. “Plausible deniability.” He looked her steadily in the eye as he said it, but he knew it wouldn’t satisfy her.

“Bullshit.” She deadpanned. He had succeeded in pissing her off.

“I told you that I had met my dark side. I never said I wanted to introduce you to him.” The intensity of his gaze did nothing to deter her. It seemed to only further piss her off.

“Adam, we would have helped.” Jaz used his name to get the point of how serious she was across to him. She took a breath before her next confession. “I was angry with you because you left me -us behind.”

Dalton moved forward in his seat and made sure she was looking at him, “What I did, I didn’t want to touch you. Not any of you.”

“We are a team. You’re supposed to trust us, especially when you knew that that man was poison. Your words, not mine. You shouldn’t have gone alone. You could have been hurt and we would not have known where you were.” She rarely argued to the point of insubordination, but once she realized where he had gone, she had been terrified that they would lose not only Preach, but Top as well. 

“I’m still your CO and it is still my call to make.” He wasn’t going to back down on the fact that he had essentially committed murder and he was fine with it. 

“A CO, doesn’t go dark for three hours without saying anything to his team after one of them is nearly blown to hell.” She snapped, leaning forward in her seat as well and she wasn’t backing down from how she felt. Their knees were nearly touching, and she made sure he was looking her in the eye, “You scared us.”

“Us? Or you?” Dalton challenged and watched her recoil. He knew it was unfair, but he was not going to regret his decision. He had been protecting them and that was the end of it. He did what he had to do. Taking a deep breath and scrubbing his hand over his beard, “Look, we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one.”

“Fine.” Sitting back in her chair, she finished drinking her beer and resumed looking up at the stars.

It was never good when a woman made that simple statement. He had three sisters, he knew that ‘fine’ meant anything but that. However, he was too tired, the fire was getting low, and he could see Jaz was shivering in the cold mountain air. After a few more minutes, he could see she was losing the fight trying to stay warm and her eyes looked heavy.

“When was the last time you slept?” He asked softly. They all had taken shifts sleeping on a cot at the hospital and then they had been in DC in hotel rooms going through debriefs for hours. He had not seen her look rested since before Teheran. 

“I don’t remember.” She refused to look him in the eye when she answered.

Dalton stood and reached for the bucket next to his seat that was always filled when he had a fire going. She must have grabbed it before texting him the picture. Once the flames were doused, he reached out a hand to help her up. She looked at him before reaching up to take it. She picked up her bag as he dropped her hand and led her inside the small cabin.

The cabin was a simple square space with the kitchen directly across from the front door and a large stone fireplace to the left and the only bedroom to the right. It was small, but it was his and it was quiet. He moved to the fireplace to stir the coals from the previous evening’s fire and added logs to the growing flames from the pile to the right of the fireplace.

Jaz set her bag down next to the couch and was sitting in the corner watching him work. She’d already removed her coat and boots, having placed them by door next to his own. She looked ready to drop off if given the slightest push. It seemed that all the fight had gone out of her now that she had said what she needed to say, at least the most pressing.

Without a word, he went to go get the spare pillow and blanket he kept in his room for when he had guests. By the time he returned, Jaz had slid down on the couch, her head pillowed on her arms, and she was sound asleep. Patton was curled up at her feet and he lifted his head to look at Dalton. Adam patted him on the head as he put the pillow down and unfolded the blanket to cover Jaz. He gently tucked the blanket around her and lifted her arms to place the pillow underneath her head. She wrapped her arms around the pillow and settled in. 

He wasn’t quite ready to go to bed and he found himself sitting in his favorite chair by the window, the worn leather warmed by the fire, and Jaz’s steady breathing easing the last bits of tension from his shoulders. He watched her a while and allowed his mind to wander back to their last few missions. Teheran and her capture, the subsequent rescue, and then the mission in Columbia when he had had to leave her behind, and finally, the rescue of a sixteen-year-old that reminded him of Andy and the disaster that was Alex Hoffman.

_Late Spring 2005_

_“Andy Dalton?” a voice called out._

_Andy looked up at the secretary standing at the front of her home room class and she knew. Her aunt had finally succumbed to the cancer. She stood wordlessly and gathered her backpack and homework. She didn’t need to ask if she would be back, she knew she would not be. The pity in the look of the secretary was all she needed to confirm the truth._

_She followed the secretary to the main office and didn’t bother to ask questions that she knew wouldn’t be answered until she entered the principal’s office. The walk down the empty corridors left her wondering if she would be allowed to finish the last six weeks of school before she would be moved. She didn’t turn eighteen until two days after graduation and didn’t want to go to a group home before that._

_When the door to the principal’s office opened, Andy was surprised to see Adam standing before her in fatigues. He looked up at her and looked uncomfortable standing there surrounded by strangers. She wanted to spare him the uncomfortable situation, but the school would have called her legal guardian in absence of her mother or aunt. Her mother had listed him as next of kin after her sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer._

_Emily Stuart had known Andy had a brother and sisters, but Andy didn’t learn that until the day her mother died of a heart attack and they revealed they couldn’t get her aunt on the phone because she was at treatment. They offered to call her brother. Andy had been shocked to learn the truth and spent the week following her mother’s death, tracking down every scrap of information about her father’s other family._

_“Adam, I’m sorry they called you at work.” Andy apologized trying to ease the awkwardness. Adam looked surprised by her apology and she couldn’t hide her confusion._

_“Andy, we are sorry to tell you that your aunt passed away earlier this morning at the hospital.” Mrs. Johnson, the principal stated offering her sympathy. Andy nodded, but remained silent._

_The small group sat in the office in silence for a minute before Adam spoke up, “Do you want me to take you home?” he questioned as he realized that Andy was not going to give these people the tears they were expecting._

_He looked at his sister and he was grateful for her stubborn streak that had her calling him at least twice a week since that morning at his uncle’s farm even when he wasn’t the most talkative person. It had given him the opportunity to get to know his sister and had had the unintended benefit of giving him back a piece of himself that he thought he had lost. He shared with her the loss of friends in a way he had not been able to with the sisters he’d grown up with because Andy did not have the pre-conceived notion of him being the perfect soldier brother. He had found they were similar in the mentality of getting the job done and dealing with feelings later. Adam saw now that she had known this was coming and had already set aside her feelings to deal with details that came with death._

_She looked down at her brother holding her hand trying to comfort her and she realized that even though he hadn’t wanted the extra responsibility of another sister, he had taken her on anyway. She nodded her head simply because she didn’t want to be at school when the rumors started to fly about little orphaned Andy. Nor did she want to hear the rumors that were bound to start with the mysterious appearance of a man in uniform taking her home._

_“Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you Andy.” Mrs. Johnson offered with a sympathetic smile._

_“I want to graduate with my class in six weeks,” was Andy’s only response before turning and walking out the door to head to her locker and gather her things._

_Dalton looked at his sister’s back and then the principal. “Will she be able to stay here?”_

_“That will be up to you. She doesn’t turn eighteen until after graduation,” Mrs. Johnson informed him._

_Adam nodded and left the office to find Andy already standing by the doors leading out to the main student parking lot. “Do you need a ride?” he questioned as she stared out the windows._

_“No, I have my mom’s car. Aunt Maggy let me keep it to help drive her back and forth to the hospital.” She answered before turning to look at him. “You don’t have to stick around or anything. I already have all the numbers I need to call for the funeral. Aunt Maggy and I planned everything right after mom died so that I wouldn’t have to worry about it.”_

_“I’m not leaving you by yourself.” Adam stated before holding the door open and escorting her to her car. He walked her all the way out to the grey Honda Civic that was the definition of non-descript. He smirked at it as she opened the trunk and threw her backpack in. She turned to him then and he saw the struggle to keep it together._

_She took a deep breath, “Do you have a car? How did you get here? Do you need me to take you someplace?” She asked the questions with the same nervousness he had seen in her the day they met._

_“I’m parked in the front lot, come around and I’ll follow you.” He wanted to get her off school property before the dam he knew was starting to crack finally broke loose._

_They made it to the small yellow house off the main road through town, it had dark green shutters and a green front door. The single car garage door opened as she pulled into the driveway and he parked behind her in the beat up old pick up he had fixed up his senior year of high school. He climbed out as she pulled her backpack out of the trunk. Out of habit he had taken in all the details of the yard, the closest neighbor and the fact that the trees surrounding the property afforded plenty of privacy. It was a nice piece of land and he could see why Andy didn’t want to leave._

_“You coming?” she asked as she stood at the interior door of the garage waiting for him. He followed into the garage and she shut the door behind him. The door led to the open kitchen where the counters were scrubbed clean, no knickknacks like his aunt had, a lone picture hanging on the refrigerator door of Andy with her mother, and a single glass in the sink._

_“Do you want something to drink? I can make coffee if you want or iced tea. I’m sorry I don’t have much, I haven’t been to the store in a couple weeks because Aunt Maggy has been getting worse and I’ve been going to the hospital most nights.” She was rambling as she stood at the kitchen table pulling her homework from her bag and a planner that looked color coded based on the multiple tabs he could see._

_“I’m good.” He answered tossing his keys on to the kitchen table. He studied her a minute longer and she started to fidget._

_“Well, you seriously don’t have to stay. I just need to make some phone calls to the funeral home and the insurance company, and my aunt’s lawyer. I’ll be back in school tomorrow, so you won’t be bothered having to call me in or anything.” She was looking just past his left shoulder and had clasped her fingers together._

_“I told you, I’m not leaving. I don’t report back to duty for another eight weeks. You aren’t staying here alone.” He reiterated moving to stand in front of her._

_“I’ve been alone for the last 2 months, I’m used to it.” She answered bitterly, looking him in the eye with a hint of defiance._

_“You are not alone now.” He gripped her shoulders to make sure she was hearing him._

_He watched as those words registered with her and the dam finally began to crumble. He pulled her into a hug and she finally released the emotions of the day. The tears soaked his uniform and her sobs broke his heart, just like it did whenever their other sisters had cried when they were younger. It only lasted for a few moments, before he felt her pulling herself together to once again, deal with the details._

_As night had fallen, Andy had made all the arrangements for her aunt’s funeral and he had ordered them pizza from the menu sitting next to the couch in the living room. He had convinced her to take the time off school so that they could complete the arrangements and so that he could drive back to his apartment and get some clothes that would last him until he deployed again._

_After dinner, he found her out in the backyard, sitting next to a small bonfire she had built staring up at the clear night sky. He sat in the plastic Adirondack chair next to her and mimicked her position. “When I was little I used to sit outside at my uncle’s in the summer time and stare up at the stars and wonder what it would be like to visit them all.” Adam confessed breaking the silence that had surrounded her._

_“I used to stare up at them and wonder if my dad was looking at the same stars. Now I know that is unlikely.” The bitterness was there again._

_“Yeah, dad wasn’t the poster boy for parenthood.” He glanced over at her, wishing he had something stronger than root beer._

_“No parent is. Some are just worse than others. I hate that he was mean to my mother, I hate that he was terrible to you and your sisters and I hate that he didn’t even want to know me. But fuck him, it is his loss.” He smirked at that sad response. He had grown up too young, and it looked like Peter Dalton had caused his youngest child to grow up too fast as well, without even knowing her._

_“They are your sisters too.”_

_“They wish I wasn’t.” She replied looking at the bottle of water he had brought her. She was not looking for a pity party, but damn if she wasn’t working her way into one. “Look, I will tell you what I told them. None of you owe me anything. After I graduate, I am going to be going to school and I’m leaving this place. None of you have to hear from me again. I couldn’t leave without at least trying to get to know you all. I’m sorry if I caused problems and heartache. I didn’t intend to do that. I wanted to meet dad first and then I found out he was dead. I guess I hoped that maybe he had mentioned me. Nope. No such luck there. So, I will disappear from your lives if that is what you want.”_

_Adam found that he did not want to lose another person in his life and made a decision. He turned and looked at her, made sure she was looking at him, “You disappear, I find you. I will always be your brother and you are not alone.”_

_Andy nodded and felt the burn of tears again. She was sad, lonely and angry, but Adam telling her she wasn’t alone for a second time, eased the pain she had felt since her mother’s death, and she nodded in understanding and swiped at the lone tear that had escaped. He reached across the distance and gripped her smaller hand in his and found himself happy for the first time that he had not turned her away that morning._

Jaz sleeping on the couch reminded him of those days with Andy and made him miss his sister even more. He didn’t think of Jaz as a sister by any means, but the same lonely streak he remembered in Andy, he saw in Jaz. Part of him wanted to make sure she was never alone, but not in the same way he had meant it with Andy. It was a line he couldn’t cross he told himself.

Sometime later, he finally went to bed, the sheets were cool and part of him wondered… Shaking his head, he curled around the pillow he held and began to drift off to sleep. The wind rustling the trees and pressing the branches against the glass, were the last thing he heard before he finally succumbed to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoping to finish catching this up by Monday. I have new chapters to post, but want to update both sites at the same time.

Chapter 2:

Jaz woke up slowly the next morning, the sun peaking in the back skylight slanted over her face and Patton’s cold nose poked at her hand demanding attention. Finally, she heard the gurgling of the coffee maker and smiled before stretching to sit up. She could not remember the last time she had slept through the night without some noise waking her. She actually felt rested.

Adam saw her beginning to stir from the small dining table that doubled as his desk. He had his laptop open and an email from Andy filled with pictures of her trip to the Temple of Poseidon. He was grinning at the one of her staring at the water and the wind blowing her hair. She looked happy.

He heard Jaz pad over to stand behind him. “Andy,” he stated pointing to another picture where she was talking to a child of about eight years old. He didn’t talk about her much, but Jaz could tell, that of his three living sisters, he was closest to her.

“What is she doing in Greece?” Jaz asked, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and proceeding to pour herself the first mug of coffee for the day. The smell of the strong coffee already working its magic to chase away the last dregs of sleep.

“She started working there as an English teacher; at least that is what she tells me.” He was still studying the pictures of his sister and Jaz could tell something was bothering him. She stood over his shoulder, studying the pictures with him, when she saw what must have made his internal alarm bells go off.

“Dark hair, blue jacket in every picture,” he stated pointing to the main with the shadow of a beard on his face and a camera slung around his neck. He was facing away from Andy, but Top was right, he was in every picture. “Am I being paranoid?”

“Top, you’re her big brother and with what we do for a living, kind of expected to be a little paranoid. Maybe shoot her a message and tell her to keep an eye out?” Jaz offered knowing that his sister could take care of herself.

“So, what were your plans beyond crashing on my couch?” he questioned as she moved to sit across from him steeling his last piece of toast.

“Maybe do some hiking, I haven’t been here in a while and thought it might be worth checking out what if anything has changed.” She wrapped her hands around the coffee mug and took a sip before smiling appreciatively. 

“Well, I do need to make a run to town this afternoon for groceries, because what I have won’t feed the two of us.” He mentioned taking a sip of his own coffee. Having someone else in the cabin to have an actual conversation with over coffee was already more enjoyable than the quiet over the last few weeks. And Jaz was someone he could relax around for the most part.

“Not if McG and Amir are coming.” She stated it matter-of-factly and hid her smile behind her coffee mug. Adam set his coffee cup down with an audible thwack. 

“What do you mean they are coming here? Did anyone think it may not be the smartest plan to sneak up on a guy?” He knew they were bound to show up, but usually he had more than a same day notice.

“Why do you think I showed up first? Someone had to warn you. They wanted to descend on you and finally have the conversation about those hours in Turkey. I told them to give me a few hours to talk to you first,” she explained and watched his face register just what that meant. “You didn’t think I was the only one with something to say, did you?”

He scowled at her and shut his laptop before moving to the stove to start cooking eggs for the two of them. He needed something to keep his mind off the thoughts stumbling through his head. She was smirking, and he heard the camera on her phone go off and he glanced over his shoulder to see what she was taking a picture of and grinned at Patton with his paw in her hand.

Jaz sent the picture to McG and Amir as well as Preach, so that they knew she had made it safely to Top’s cabin in the mountains. Picking up her coffee mug, she walked to the front door and let Patton to do his business and followed as far as the front porch. Sometime overnight it had snowed and turned the woods surrounding Dalton’s cabin into a winter wonderland. She used to find such views pretty, but now she was forcibly reminded of the days she spent in the white room of the black site in Tehran. 

Dalton looked up and saw that she was standing on the front porch staring at the snow, but she hadn’t shut the door. Turning off the stove, he moved slowly to the front door, not wanting to startle her, but then Patton let out a sharp bark of warning. He watched in slow motion as the coffee mug she was holding slipped from her fingers and shattered upon impact with the porch, the hot coffee splashing her feet and legs.

“Shit,” she cursed as she stepped back on a broken shard of the ceramic mug. “Shit!” she exclaimed, and he moved towards her. 

“Don’t move,” he ordered sharply as he slipped his boots on and reaching down, he lifted her up off her feet by her waist and moved to deposit her on the table, so he could look at her foot.

“Patton, stay!” she ordered the dog when she saw him moving towards the porch. The dog actually listened and stayed on the step. “Top, get the dog first, I’m fine.” She was pointing to the mug fragments that were between the dog and the front door. He looked her foot over quickly and assessed that he was going to need the first aid kit he kept in the bathroom just as he heard a vehicle pull up. Patton turned to bark at the approaching vehicle and jumped at McG when he opened the driver side door of their jeep.

“You two okay in there?” Amir questioned as they climbed the stairs and saw the remains of the coffee mug.

“Yeah, I dropped my coffee mug. I blame the dog,” she answered looking down at her foot. Dalton glanced at her knowing that she was only telling a half truth.

“Jaz, you aren’t supposed to need stitches when you’re on leave,” McG added as he came to kneel beside Dalton.

“Amir, can you please sweep the mug so that the dog doesn’t get hurt,” Jaz requested as Dalton moved to the bathroom to get the first aid kit, firmly ignoring McG’s comments. She knew she would not need stitches, she was more annoyed than anything. Most of the time she didn’t react to the snow that way but seeing it so pristine and the silence reminded her too much of that stark room. She had managed to not zone out thinking about Tehran most of leave, but even she could admit that part of her had spent leave running from the nightmares that still crept up on her.

McG studied her face for the first time and then lifted her right foot. “You end up at the wrong end of a fist too? What did Top beat you up for surprising him?” he teased her, but the smile she gave him didn’t reach her eyes. He raised an eyebrow at her and she gave him a slight shake of her head. He knew not to push what was bothering her. She would confess in her own time if she needed.

“Nah, she tangled with someone besides me. I’m sure he didn’t make the same mistake twice,” Top answered him with a playful grin aimed her way.  


McG pulled the shard of the mug from Jaz’s foot and cleaned the wound before deciding she didn’t need stitches after all, just a heavy-duty band aid. He patched her up and patted her knee affectionately before Dalton handed them both fresh cups of coffee. “Try not to step on anything that will require medical attention before we deploy, Amir on over watch still makes me nervous,” he teased before moving to sit on the couch. Amir had taken up a spot at the table and Dalton had moved to his favorite chair. Patton was still excited to see everyone and continued to move from one person to the next. The only one missing was Preach and Dalton felt like part of his family was missing.

“So, what’s the plan?” Amir questioned as he took a sip of his own coffee.

“Well, apparently Top doesn’t know how to go grocery shopping when he’s on leave,” Jaz stated with a smirk.

“I nominate Amir,” McG offered with a grin.

“Second!” Jaz laughed as Top rose his hand in the air. He hated shopping anyway. It felt good to laugh again.

Jaz looked around at her guys and felt a pang that Preach wasn’t there with them and shared a glance with Top. He looked almost content to just sit there and watch them interact with each other. Laughing and teasing and not looking over their shoulder. She saw the hesitancy though. Preach missing, the fact that his sister had someone following her, and he was half a world away. Patton must have sensed it too because he walked over and rested his head on Dalton’s knee. Top absently scratched him behind the ears.

Amir caught the glance between their CO and sniper and felt a bit of envy with how easy the two of them were with one another. He remembered a comment Preach had made once regarding connections with people and it was no doubt that Jaz and Top had a connection that transcended CO and sniper. He had only had that experience once in his career and it had been fleeting. He was drawn back into conversation about dinner and what he could make, along with what he had been doing on leave.

They were making a list for dinner and gathering up to head into town when their cell phones all went off simultaneously. Ingrained habit had them all looking to Top once they saw that the call was from the DIA. He didn’t have his secure laptop, so he dialed in from memory.

“Looks like leave’s over,” McG stated looking at Jaz. She nodded in response and watched as Dalton took on the mask of CO. They watched as he moved to the front porch and closed the door. It was never a good sign when he left the room. 

He returned moments later and told them to pack up, they were headed to DC. They would be driving as it was faster than going to an airstrip. They seamlessly moved to pack up and Top called his uncle to let him know that they were shipping out earlier than expected and he would need to send someone over to close up the cabin for him. His uncle assured him it would be taken care of and they were out the door in a matter of an hour.

Across the country, Preach got the call and looked at his wife and daughters before moving to the other room to call in. He had not technically been cleared for duty, but he and his wife had made the decision that this would be his last deployment. He was not going out without trying his hardest to get back. He hated being away from his girls, but he loved what he did, and he needed to see his other family. He had unfinished business with them. He was on a plane to DC and would meet the team at headquarters.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos and the reviews!

Chapter 3:

They arrived at the DIA hours later, anxious to see what had been so urgent that their remaining leave time was being cut short. Jaz was not opposed to leave ending early, she always felt lost and like a tumbleweed moving around the country. Noah greeted them as they passed through security with a smile and handshakes as they moved the elevators. Top was silent as he followed Noah, and when Jaz looked over at him, she saw the worry in his eyes.

“Top?” she asked softly. He glanced over at her and shook his head. She swallowed and nodded her head in acknowledgment. 

They walked into a conference room to find Hannah and Director Campbell waiting for them. There was also the unexpected presence of Preach. It was the first time Top had smiled since they left the cabin. Preach stood and smiled at his team before hugs were exchanged and handshakes doled out. He looked whole and healthy and Jaz was never so happy to see him.

“Preach has been cleared for duty and just in time too,” Patricia announced briskly before turning to the screen at the end of the room and the team gathered around all sides of the table. Top sat next to Preach, and Jaz stood behind them both. McG and Amir were standing on the other side of the table. McG glanced at Hannah, and Jaz smirked seeing Hannah returned the look with one of her own. 

“Two days ago, we received a call from an undercover CIA operative to the DIA emergency family line. It came from a burner and only three words were used. The CIA has tried to decipher it, but with no luck, they are hoping we will have better luck.” Patricia explained before nodding to Noah to play the audio.

“Andromeda, Pegasus, Hades.” It was a female voice and it was clear and steady. In no way did she sound distressed, but Dalton had leaned forward instantly, and Jaz felt the hair on the back of her neck rise.

“Andy,” was all he said as he looked to Patricia. She nodded and Preach looked to Top with concern. McG also eyed Top. Amir was the only one that was not looking at Top, his focus was on the screen showing Andy’s picture.

“What does it mean?” Amir questioned looking over to Noah and Hannah for answers.

“We were hoping Dalton could tell us.” Noah answered looking to the other man. Everyone’s eyes shifted to their CO.

“Andromeda is Andy. Pegasus is twofold, it’s me, and it’s a request for exfil. Hades means she thinks she’s been compromised or her team has,” Adam answered pulling his phone out.

Jaz thought back to the pictures from Greece earlier that morning, she and Adam had thought she was being followed, now it seemed their hunch was correct. She watched Adam hand his phone to Noah and told him to bring up the images. She settled on the table just behind Top, not bothering with a chair.

“What was her current mission?” Amir asked, his voice tight, and Jaz glanced at him puzzled. He hadn’t even known Andy existed as far as she knew.

“She is undercover as the mistress of Adrian Dimakos, a man with a nasty reputation for kidnapping young women for the European sex trade and arms dealing. A week ago, her handler was killed in a car crash that has been deemed a hit and run.” Patricia continued to run down the ins and outs of the case his sister was working on, but he could only see the picture of her with an arms dealer holding her hand with an engagement ring on her finger. 

He knew his sister was CIA, had encouraged her to join when she asked him for his blessing, and she was good, her file had come across his desk when the replacements for Elijah had come through, but he knew that he would not be able to put his sister in the positions he put his team in without it affecting his judgment. She had agreed she wouldn’t be good working with a team led by her brother. Andy had in fact been the one to recommend Amir for the job.

“Adam, you and your team will be wheels up in an hour. Andy built into her cover a brother and his girlfriend, and Dimakos is throwing a gala to celebrate their engagement Saturday night. Your names will be on the guest list.” Noah explained looking at Jaz and Dalton. Jaz glanced at Adam and saw him nod in agreement.

As promised an hour later they were in the air with their gear stowed and Dalton brooding next to Preach. Jaz had taken up a spot near Amir and McG to catch up with them on the 11-hour flight they had ahead of them.

“So, Amir, you want to tell us why you looked like you saw a ghost when Andy’s picture went up?” McG asked beating her to the punch. Jaz smirked at him over Amir’s head.

Amir glanced between the two of them and sighed. He knew that he was going to have to confess eventually, but he wasn’t going to do it until this mission was either over or Andy explained first. “Nope.”

“Clearly you know her, but you didn’t know she was Top’s sister, did you?” Jaz surmised. It was rare to see Amir uncomfortable, but he looked like he was ready to be anywhere that wasn’t near them.

“I knew her at the farm as Andrea Turner.” Jaz raised an eyebrow at the different name.

“She went by her mother’s name because of me,” Top stated having moved to sit across from Amir. He thought of the day he had come home on leave and she told him.

_Andy pulled up to her brother’s apartment, he had come home on leave at her request. She had been interning in DC much of the last four years and she was due to graduate from college in two weeks. She had made her decision to join the CIA, but she wanted Adam to know._

_Over the last four years, Andy had spent more time with Adam than any of his other sisters or his mother. He had grown distant from them before Andy, but it only seemed worse following his inclusion of her. Part of that was that he could relate to her in more ways than his other sisters. She was the only one that knew what work he really did, mainly because she had been an assistant analyst on a mission recently and learned the details by default, even if she hadn’t already figured it out on her own._

_Adam pulled up next to Andy’s Honda that she still drove and was greeted with a bear hug as he climbed out of the truck. “I’m so glad you are home,” she whispered feeling the nervousness in her stomach finally settle. It had been nerve wracking to be on the other end of his comms during the last mission. He hugged her back and ruffled her hair as they walked up to his apartment._

_“Not really how I wanted you to find out what I actually do for a living,” he stated once they were inside._

_“I knew you did more than just sit around on base.” She answered blandly before climbing up onto the counter._

_“You never were the one to take things at face value, were you?” he mused as he pulled a bottle of water from the fridge._

_“Not on your life,” she replied with a grin._

_“How’s your target practice been going?”_

_His last stretch at home, he had discovered she had been taking self-defense classes and she was learning to shoot. When he questioned her on it, she had been cagey in her response. Now that he saw her, he knew she was going to drop something on him. She was twitchy._

_“Just ask,” he demanded._

_“Not really an ask, more just a heads up,” she responded picking at the label of her water bottle._

_“Okay…”_

_“I got accepted into the farm,” she replied knowing that because he had the clearance, she could tell him and really, he probably already knew._

_Adam swallowed the water he had just gulped and looked at his kid sister that he felt had just graduated high school. “Is that really what you want?” he asked carefully. He knew she could do the job, knew that she had the nerves of steel needed, the talent of slipping into different personas as needed. The only reason he worried was that she had talked about having a family someday. Most operatives he knew were solitary and the job didn’t afford for any kind of lasting romantic entanglements._

_Andy looked at her brother and smiled. She knew his concerns, loved him for not doubting she could do the job, but she was still surprised he wasn’t talking her out of it. “Adam, I want to do something that matters,” she replied with honesty and without guile. She could never guarantee that she would find someone that loved her, and she loved in return. They had had that discussion one night after she turned twenty-one and he’d picked her up from a house party drunk. Neither thought they would ever get married and have kids, even though it wasn’t something they would turn down if the right person came around._

_“So, my baby sister is going to be a spook?” He was proud, but he wanted to talk her out of it. The look on her face though? She knew what she was getting into, and he would support her. He would also make damn sure he had a way to watch her back._

“Why because of you?” Amir questioned.

“Because my sister has a stubborn streak longer than mine. She was determined to earn everything she got on her own. It isn’t easy for women,” Adam glanced at Jaz with a look that showed he understood more than she had realized. “She didn’t want my reputation having any influence over her successes or her failures hurting me.”

“Sounds like something you would do,” Preach responded having joined their conversation.

“She learned it from her own mother. I didn’t meet Andy until she was seventeen years old when her mother died.” His confession was something they had not known. They knew she was a half-sister, knew that he didn’t grow up with Andy, but they didn’t realize just how many years it been before they even met.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to put plans in motion...
> 
> On a personal note, thank you to those that have left kudos and messages. I love seeing them pop up in my email especially when other parts of life are not so pleasant.

Chapter 4:

_Late Spring 2005_

_Dalton stood in the doorway of Andy’s house and watched as she came down the hall in her cap and gown. It was graduation day, and Andy had been rock-solid after her aunt’s funeral, but today, he knew would be rough. She looked fidgety and he was learning that it was her tell when she wanted to say something but didn’t want to burden him._

_“Its okay to miss them,” he offered handing her a Kleenex from the hall table. She huffed out a laugh and swiped at her eyes._

_“I’m kinda feeling pissed off,” she confessed looking up at him feeling confused._

_“Why?” He had a feeling he knew the answer, but she needed to say it._

_“She was supposed to be here!” she snapped out angrily._

_He was right. “Andy, she is here.”_

_Andy nodded and accepted his words, even if it did nothing to calm her anger or her nerves about walking across the stage that afternoon. She picked up her car keys and Adam plucked them from her hand. “I’m driving today. You are going to relax and try to enjoy this.” He smiled when she nodded and led her out the door. She opened the passenger side door of the truck and stopped short._

_Adam had bought her a small white teddy bear and white roses with a balloon shaped like graduation cap that said congratulations. It had been Preach’s suggestion when he had called the night before to give him details on his next meeting in DC. The look on Andy’s face suggested it had been a good call. She picked up the bear first and rubbed the ears between her fingers. Then she picked up the half dozen roses that were laying across the seat. She quietly climbed into the truck and held them in her lap._

_“Thank you,” she whispered. She glanced up at him and gave him a smile. “No one has ever bought me flowers before.” She added, her voice a little stronger._

_“You didn’t ever have a boyfriend buy you flowers?” he asked pulling out of the driveway._

_“Never had one to buy me flowers,” she replied matter-of-factly. “I was always busy working or studying and didn’t really go on any dates like most people. I wanted to get out of this small town,” she explained with a shrug. The more she got her mind off her mother, the more she relaxed._

_“Most high school guys aren’t brilliant anyway,” he added with a grin. He wasn’t sure if he was happy she’d never had a boyfriend or not._

_As he pulled into the parking lot of the high school, that was rapidly filling with parents and students, he glanced over at his sister. It was amazing how in such a short time, she had become as important to him as his other sisters, his mother and his team. She glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. “You coming?” she asked as she slid out of the truck._

_“How would you feel about spending a couple weeks with me in DC? I have to deploy soon and need to be there Monday morning. I figured maybe you could spend time checking out the museums and relaxing before you start classes in the fall.” It was an impulse decision to ask her, but he felt like it may not be a bad idea to get her out for a short time. He did not want to leave her alone when he deployed without someone she could call for help._

_“Can I think about it?” she asked as he came around the side of the truck. He nodded, and they began to make their way to the gymnasium where the graduation ceremony would take place._

_Andy left him standing at the entrance to the gym while she went to join her classmates to line up. She mulled over his offer to go to DC for a short time before he deployed and wondered if she should work like she planned and start prepping the house to sell. Her aunt’s insurance had paid off the house, so she only had to worry about paying off the last of the bills from the cancer, the utilities, and her own new bills. She had a job lined up at a local factory to work as an admin for the head of HR, but it was not what she really wanted to do. She thought of the many jobs she had seen listed in the DC area and thought about the idea of starting fresh in the city._

_Monday morning, Adam threw her suitcase in the bed of his truck and they began the drive to DC and his place there. They were there in a matter of a couple hours and he watched as Andy’s face lit up with excitement._

_“I wanted to take you by to meet a few of the guys from my unit and their families. That way if you need anything and can’t get in touch, you have other people you can contact.” He stated as he led her to the one bedroom apartment he kept near base._

_Andy walked into his apartment and was not surprised to see it sparsely decorated. It was very Adam. She smiled and set her bag beside the old beat up leather couch. “You do realize I don’t need a babysitter, right?” she questioned glancing over as he shuffled through his mail._

_“No, but you need an emergency contact when I can’t be here,” he responded before tossing the junk mail into the garbage._

_“So, who am I meeting tonight?” she questioned as she spun her cell phone in her hand._

_“Preach,” Adam answered finally looking at her. She seemed calmer than he remembered, like she no longer had the weight of the world on her shoulders._

_“I didn’t take you for a religious guy,” she responded with a raised eyebrow. Adam smiled indulgently._

_“It is a well-earned nickname, Zeke Carter is his given name. His wife is Meredith Carter. You’ll like her.”_

_Andy raised an eyebrow at him instead. That evening, they pulled up at a small house with several cars parked up and down the street. Adam glanced at her and noticed her glancing up and down the street with her hands in her pocket. Head on a swivel, he thought to himself and smirked._

Andy Dalton took a deep breath and left her apartment for the day. She walked down the street and smiled at the people she saw nearly daily. The weight of her tail’s gaze also followed her every step towards the school where she taught English as a second language to primary school students. In her line of work, it was rare to enjoy a cover as much as she enjoyed the one she was currently using. The tail made her aware of the danger that she was putting those students in by pretending though. It made her anxious to complete her mission.

When she walked in the school, it was the first time the eyes disappeared. Andy knew that her tail would remain outside the school in a dark sedan approximately one block away. His partner having left the vehicle unlocked and a hot cup of coffee waiting for him. She had turned the tables the day after she had first noticed the tail. He had been there for at least a week now.

During the field trip with her students, she had sent photos to her brother, knowing that he would question the fact that she was being followed after she didn’t see him within 24 hours of her first call. Having worked with the DIA as an intern during college, she wasn’t surprised that once voice recognition was used, her identity verified and the CIA attempting to break the code that had no meaning to anyone save her brother, it would be 48 hours before her brother would even be in route. It had been nearly 72 hours since the initial call, and she kept her eyes open for sign that he was there.

Dalton and team landed in Greece and immediately set out for a safe house near the school. Adam was anxious to get eyes on his sister and make sure that she was safe. Preach calmed his nerves reminding him to have faith that his sister knew how to take care of herself and that he had helped teach her how to keep a cool head when her life was on the line. Preach also reminded him, that his sister was deceptively lethal. 

Once their gear was stowed, Adam laid out the plan to contact his sister. School was out in less than an hour and from reports, his sister usually stayed late to wait for students to be picked up from school. She would sometimes stay late to grade papers, but she never stayed later than one hour after the last child left the school.

Amir would make initial contact, posing as a parent of a perspective student. A private tour had been arranged for the end of the school day, and he would get her the safe house location. Preach was stationed with McG on a nearby rooftop observing the north side of the school where her classroom was located.

Amir dressed like an affluent businessman as they prepped his cover with pictures of a daughter, complete with school records. He was nervous about seeing Andrea again. “What are you thinking Amir?” Top questioned him as he straightened his tie. 

“German, she knows the language, but not many here do,” Amir responded having thought about his approach to testing her and letting her know she was no longer on her own. Dalton nodded agreeing with him.

“Run the cover story again,” Adam ordered taking a deep breath and running a hand over his beard. Amir ran the story through, adding details to make it feel real. He ran through until Adam was satisfied it would hold up to scrutiny. 

“How are we going to let her know big brother is in town?” Jaz questioned as she prepped her own gear. She and Top would be in a vehicle nearby to keep an eye on the main entrance of the school. They would stay far enough back that her tail would not notice them.

“And when does the fiancé come back in town?” McG questioned packing his rifle scope.

“Tonight, so we have to make contact immediately. I want her here tonight with at least an hour before Dimakos is on his way from the airport. His flight is scheduled to land at 2100 from London.” Dalton answered reviewing the flight details for the fifth time.

Ten minutes later, McG and Preach were in place on a nearby rooftop and had found Andy’s classroom. They watched as she moved around the classroom, instructing students, and looking relatively relaxed despite the fact that she had sent an SOS to her brother. She gave no indication that she was in any immediate danger, but there were a couple times they saw her pause at the window and look down at a dark sedan with a frown. She’d also briefly glanced up in their direction, McG was certain his scope had been hit with a reflection giving them away because she closed the shades partly after that.

Amir pulled up to park near the main entrance of the school as students began to pour out to greet their parents. He stayed in his car for five minutes before climbing out and making his way towards the entrance. When the school called to confirm his appointment, he had been instructed to look for a gentleman by the name Sandro Perro and he would execute the tour of the grounds and the classrooms. Sandro was a slight man with sandy blonde hair and gray eyes. He was probably in his mid-forties and had a receding hairline. 

“Good afternoon, Mr. Fischer,” the man greeted him with a handshake. They exchanged pleasantries and the tour began with a brief tour of the outdoor facilities, including a blacktop area with varying lines painted on the surface for games. There were still students milling around chasing each other and laughing.

They moved inside and began a slow walk through the halls, Perro going on and on about the extensive curriculum. Amir remained engaged while taking note of the exits and glancing in passing classrooms. They reached the end of the hall on the north end of the building and the classroom that Preach had informed them was Andy’s classroom.

“This is Ms. Andrea Weber’s classroom. She would be Cassie’s teacher should you choose to enroll her. Would you like to meet her?” Perro offered gesturing towards the partially open door.

Andy had heard the voices in the hall and went back to grading the papers of her students, pretending to be absorbed in her work. The door opened, and she finished her comment before looking up at the school administrator leading a potential student’s father through the door. She stood and straightened her shirt, just as the man looked up at her with very familiar brown eyes.

_Andy walked into the dorms feeling jittery and out of place. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her nerves and glanced out the window as she ran into the back of a man with dark brown hair. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” she apologized as he turned around and leveled her with chocolate brown eyes filled with hostility._

_“Next time watch it,” he muttered darkly before walking off. She frowned in annoyance at his attitude before shaking it off._

_“Hey, what’s your name?” she questioned following him. She was determined to not make enemies before they even started training. There was also something about him that intrigued her instantly._

_He turned on her and she nearly collided with him again. “What do you care?” he demanded glaring down at her. It was rare that he was taller than people and he was using the height difference to his advantage, but this girl didn’t seem to care._

_“Look, I’m used to attitude from people, so get a new shtick,” she answered before continuing, “I’m Andrea Turner.” She stuck her hand out and hoped he would take it._

_“Are you always this persistent?” he asked staring at her hand like it was covered in mud._

_“My brother would say stubborn,” she answered before beginning to withdraw her hand. He reached out and gripped her hand with warm callused fingers._

_“Amir.”_

Amir drank in Andy’s appearance, from the crisp white button-down blouse, the navy cardigan, and navy dress pants to the loose waves of raven colored hair, her blue eyes that had always been so distinct to him, but now he could see the family resemblance to his CO, and a carefully curious expression. He remembered then just how good an operative she was during their time together.

_He watched her work the room of men with ease and managed to bug each and every one of their targets while he only managed to bug one person. It was a test and he was failing miserably. She walked over to him with curious eyes and asked him what was wrong._

_“How do you do that?” he questioned glancing over his shoulder at the room while he sipped on a glass of soda water._

_“What?” she asked also ordering a soda water. She turned and scanned the room with the blue eyes that reminded him of early spring days._

_“Charm them all,” he answered with honesty._

_“Bubbly personality that is open and warm is like a bee to honey. They will tell you anything you want if you convince them you aren’t a threat. They look at me and see some petite woman with big blue eyes and think I’m harmless. They don’t even know I’ve spun the web until they are caught up in it and can’t escape,” she answered with honesty and without ego. She wasn’t trying to hide who she was, but she also knew that helping people was her greatest talent and being kind helped people open up even when they didn’t realize it._

“Ms. Weber this is Mr. Fischer, his daughter Cassie will possibly be joining us for the remainder of the school year,” Perro stated as Amir reached out a hand in greeting.

Andy looked into those warm brown eyes that she knew so well and felt safe for the first time in weeks. She gripped his hand firmly and felt the paper he slipped between the knuckles of her fingers. She smiled warmly and turned to welcome him into the classroom. She went into full teacher mode and showed off the school’s positives.

“Do you speak German?” she questioned him in Greek. He nodded, and she continued the conversation about what the students were studying currently in German. Perro knew that she also tutored German for the older pupils in the school and would not question her practicing on a man with a clear German accent.

“Do you study the constellations?” he asked her and watched as the meaning settled over her.

“The students are currently working on a project to find stories of the constellations that they see most nights. Andromeda and Pegasus are the most popular, along with Cassiopeia and Ursa Major,” she answered with a warm smile as she moved to the constellation globe on her desk and pointed to each of the constellations. Her brother had received her message and come with the cavalry.

In the car two blocks away, Dalton listened over comms to the conversation between Amir and Andy. Jaz glanced at him with curious eyes as she watched the relieved smile spread over his face. He understood just enough German to know that Andy understood he had come to help. Jaz saw the tension bleed away and Top glanced over at her with the relief evident on his face.

“She’s as good as he is,” she commented with a hint of surprise and respect.

“I’ve never seen her in the field,” Dalton commented, but Jaz could hear the hint of pride in his voice. “Her file came across my desk last year and was highly recommended, but she turned me down.”  
Jaz raised an eyebrow at him, “I thought siblings couldn’t work together.”

“They can’t, but only Patricia knew she was my sister.” Another piece of the Andy and Top puzzle fell into place. 

Minutes later, Amir drove past them going in the opposite direction. They would rendezvous back at the safe house as soon as they knew Andy was on the move. Five minutes after Amir passed, Andy stepped out of the school and Adam breathed a sigh of relief seeing her with his own eyes.

“Top, there’s her tail,” Jaz observed as a man of medium height, weight and build climbed from a dark sedan about three blocks from their own position. They watched as she maneuvered through the streets and after a few minutes, picked up the follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be updating again either late tonight or twice tomorrow. I'm posted through chapter 7 on fanfiction.net and I have the next chapter ready to go, but want to get these both to the same spot.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second post today. I posted the previous chapter this morning. Check that out first or you might be confused.

Chapter 5:

Andy made it back to her apartment and proceeded to pack her bag that she would take to Adrian’s home later that evening. When he was out of town, she preferred to stay in her own place. The mansion was too large for one person, and made her feel lonely, she’d explained to him one night as he packed to leave. Really what she needed was to feel safe and get a break from the double life she led. It was usually on those nights she would call Adam or email him.

She kept up her normal routine, closing the curtains, and turning off the lights. Locking the front door, she pulled out her keys like she was going to take her car, but as she crossed the ally to the parking garage where her vehicle was kept, she detoured into a stairwell, waited for her tail to pass and doubled back. She made it three blocks before she ducked into another parking garage where an asset she knew kept a motorbike. Climbing on the back, she zipped her leather jacket to conceal her Sig, and she proceeded the two kilometers to the address Amir had slipped her. The wind rushing through her clothes helped pull the tension she’d felt from her shoulders and she eased into the turns and found a small ally to hide the bike.

McG and Preach had just filed back into the safe house and were filling everyone one in on their observations as Amir doled out dinner. The house was an upgrade considering their usual locations, there had even been enough beds that no one had to share and a decent enough kitchen that Amir could cook. Jaz checked the proximity alarms she had set to see if Andy had arrived yet. Dalton was pacing, unable to relax knowing that his sister would have to shake her tail to get to the safe house.

Andy found Jaz’s proximity alarms and bypassed them with practiced ease. She could see through the covered windows, the shadow of someone pacing and smiled knowing it was her brother. She was a little surprised that Jaz wasn’t watching the windows as she slipped through the back door. Her feet were light as she stepped into the main living area silently. She could hear their voices drifting from the dining area and could hear the clanging of utensils on plates. She leaned against the wall just out of sight of her brother and listened to the team.

“The first time I met Andy, Adam brought her to a barbecue with the guys from our old unit.” Preach sounded like his old self, and it warmed Andy’s heart knowing he had almost died not too long ago. “What about you Amir?” he asked, and she could hear the scrape of a chair.

She couldn’t hear Adam’s pacing and figured he had finally sat down to eat dinner. The house smelled of something spicy. “The farm, first day in the dorms and she nearly knocked me over because she wasn’t paying attention.” His answer was truthful but clipped. He sounded tense and nervous. She wondered what he had to be nervous about, but guessed it was her brother knowing about many of her adventures and Amir’s inability to know what exactly Adam knew.

“Did you two ever have any assignments together?” Jaz questioned a hint of a laugh in her voice. She heard Amir still and knew that Jaz had hit her mark. Andy smirked thinking of the sniper with her lazar focus.

“A few times, the last time was Germany,” Amir answered, “She has a knack for getting people to confess to things without even knowing it.” There was a note of admiration and consternation in his voice.

“Sounds like Andy,” Preach laughed. McG was strangely silent sitting on the table. He was normally the boisterous one.

“What about you McG?” Amir questioned, “When did you meet Andy?”

Andy knew when he was trying to shift the focus off himself. She also was anticipating McG’s answer. “Germany,” McG answered quietly. 

Andy swallowed remembering that moment. It was the first time she had ever been shot. She could still feel her own blood on her hands in the rare nightmares that haunted her. Shaking off the images, she took a deep breath and stepped out from her hiding spot.

“I was quite the sight bleeding all over the place,” she announced with a smile as everyone’s eyes swung towards her, she also noticed they all went for their sidearms before realizing she was a friendly. They stood to greet her, and she turned to Adam. “Hi big brother,” she whispered before he pulled her in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and fought the lump in her throat. Andy had missed him more than she could put in words. It had been nearly two years since she had seen him in person and so much had happen in that time. Absorbing the strength of her brother, she closed her eyes and held tight. When she opened her eyes, she could see Amir step back from the group and Jaz followed as well. 

She released Adam with a smile and turned to Preach. Preach pulled her to him like he would a sister. After the barbecue that first time, Andy had babysat his daughters and kept Meredith sane during her husband’s long deployments. Meredith had taken Andy under her wing as a sister and made her feel like she had a family again. “I’m so glad to see you,” she whispered and gave him an extra hard squeeze.

“Frau Weber,” McG greeted her with a grin. “It is good to see you on your own two feet.” She laughed and reached up to hug the taller man. He picked her up and set her down with ease and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek while eyeing Amir. Amir kept his eyes on Andy.

Jaz stepped forward and held out her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you Andy,” Jaz stated with a smile. Andy shook her hand and saw her brother’s smile out of the corner of her eye.

“It is nice to finally meet the woman that has saved my brother’s stubborn ass multiple times,” Andy replied with a grin. “And keeps the other three in line too.”

“Someone has to do it,” Jaz replied with a laugh and a shrug.

Andy finally turned to Amir, “Guten abend mein ehemann,” she greeted him, stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets. Her eyes met his with a challenge.

“Guten abend meine frau,” he replied in kind from his position leaning against the counter. He wanted to reach out to her, but that was for a different time and a different place.

Adam watched as his sister greeted everyone on the team before turning to Amir. He wondered just how well they knew each other, but his mind was on the comments about Germany. He knew that Amir and Andy had been assigned together before, he also knew that her partner in Germany had been the one to shoot her and left her bleeding out in an alley where his team had found her. Her partner’s name had been redacted at the time he read the initial report. Andy told him the gunshot was to save her life even as it nearly cost her the same life. She promised him it had been better than the alternative. 

There was a tension Jaz could feel between Amir and Andy that she could feel building and glanced towards Top, knowing he probably sensed it too. He had that silent contemplative look that meant he was mulling something over and she wondered if he knew what the cause of the tension was between them.

“Wait, did you call Amir your husband?” McG questioned breaking the silence in the room.

“Last time I saw him before today, he was playing the role of my husband,” Andy answered leaning against the table they had gathered around. 

“So, Amir, when were you going to tell me that you shot my sister?” Adam asked having turned to him. Amir leveled Adam’s gaze and prepared to answer the question. Everyone else in the room stilled in anticipation of the answer.

“Can we table this discussion for later? I need to be leaving in the next hour and we have a lot to go over. Besides, he was protecting the mission. That’s our job, no matter the cost,” Andy answered stepping in front of Amir, forcing Adam to look at her. Adam nodded knowing his sister would talk later, and Andy handed him the flash drive she had kept on her for nearly six months.

Over the next hour, Adam and his team went over the blueprints and layouts for the mansion that Andy would be calling home for the foreseeable future. She showed them where the best entry points would be to plant bugs and cameras. They would be taking a scouting trip to the mansion the next night. It was also Andy’s plan to introduce Adam and Jaz the next evening so that they could move forward with their plan to attend the party at the end of the week.

Adam watched Andy lay out her plans and how easily she fell into the role of a leader. She answered their questions, took their suggestions and adapted the plan where it was needed. He was also watching Amir and how he interacted with his sister. He let her say her peace before chiming in, but he didn’t hesitate to tell her something wouldn’t work. She looked to him and it was like an entire conversation was happening without anyone else realizing it. He glanced over at Jaz and realized she had been watching him.

Jaz was listening carefully to Andy, it amazed her how much she thought and acted like Top. She also noticed that although Top was listening, he was watching his sister and Amir. Jaz had not missed the comments about husband and wife, nor the fondness in Andy’s voice. She also didn’t miss the looks between them. It reminded her of how she could look at Top and know what he was thinking without him saying a word and how they could move together seamlessly. She looked at Top and saw the discerning look. He was wondering just how well Amir and Andy knew each other and he glanced up at her and she realized it was more than that.

“So, Adam, you and Jaz will come by the house after I get home from work for dinner. I will let Adrian know you are coming so that the security team doesn’t freak out. I’ll make pasta,” Andy laid out picking up her leather coat. She slipped her cell phone in her back pocket and pulled her hair loose from her collar.

“Since when do you know how to cook?” Adam questioned as he walked her towards the door to leave.

“Amir taught me while we were undercover,” she answered casually, glancing back at the team before looking up at her brother.

“Andy, I need to know that you two can work together without there being an issue,” Adam stated looking down at his sister and watched as her eyes turned to icy fire.

“I would never risk the safety of your team Adam. If you feel like this is going to be a problem because Amir and I have a history together, then leave now. I will figure out how to do this on my own. It will be easier with your help, but I understand if you choose to leave,” Andy stated feeling hurt that Adam would doubt her abilities. She crossed her arms to keep her hands from shaking and from being twitchy as Adam had pointed out to her.

“You have a habit of pushing people away, you know that?” Adam questioned as she glared up at him.

“Pot, kettle,” she replied with a raised eyebrow. She watched as his lips thinned out into a fine line and the whiskers of his beard stuck out. “Look, Amir and I are good. I haven’t seen him in four years. I have no feelings about the situation other than saving the fifteen girls that are currently scared out of their mind.” Adam knew that was a lie she was telling herself, but he let it go.

“You be careful,” he stated letting go the urge to protect his sister when he knew she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

She nodded and reached for the door. “Bring a good bottle of wine, it will soften the surprise,” she offered before ducking out the door and disappearing into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am hoping to have the last two chapters up some time tomorrow. I'm nearly done writing this one and have new ones I want to start hashing out.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated twice yesterday and will probably update this twice today and then both sites will be in sync. My hope is that I don't work late tomorrow and can get a new chapter posted.

Chapter 6:

Amir dreamed about Germany that night. He hadn’t thought about their last mission together for nearly three years as he knew that Andy had made it out alive. She probably hated him, but she had lived. He could not risk her being dragged into the next assignment he had been given. She had been his partner and they had trusted each other implicitly until that night. He still remembered her voice as she pleaded with him not kill her, while her eyes had given him the okay to take the shot. Looking in those blue eyes he loved as he had had to aim just right. It had to be enough of a danger to make it look real, but away from anything that would be truly life threatening. His shot was off because the man urging him to kill her grabbed his arm, and she had taken a gut shot that nearly killed her. He had been dragged away as she fell to the floor, blood oozing from the wound he had inflicted. The men who were long since dead had paid for forcing the decision on him.

He rolled over hoping that the memory of the devastation on her face would disappear if he closed his eyes. She was alive and whole, and she didn’t seem to be angry with him. She had seemed genuinely happy and relieved to see him that afternoon. He thought back on the time when she could make him smile by simply seeing him and not the agent he was becoming.

_Andy watched Amir adapt a new persona with ease as they found their mark and he made contact. He had turned into a suave and slightly cocky man that felt the world was his for the taking. She stood at the bar and took in the nuance of his smile and the ease of no worries weighing on his shoulders. He looked younger and full of boundless energy. The only thing that told her it was an act were his eyes. The smile didn’t reach them. No one would be able to notice unless they had learned the difference from hours of observation._

_Two hours later as they were walking back to the apartment dorms, she noticed that Amir had gone extremely quiet. She glanced over before reaching out a hand to stop him. “Are you alright?” she questioned turning to block his path. His quietness was darker than normal for him._

_Amir looked into those blue eyes that were filled with concern and realized she was asking because she cared what he was thinking. He searched her eyes for any hint that she was digging for information that wasn’t strictly that of a friend. “No.” It was honest but didn’t give her anything. She continued to look him in the eye with concern that he couldn’t look away from as her hand still held his wrist._

_“Do you want to talk about it?”_

_“No.”_

_“Do you want me to leave you alone?”_

_“No.”_

_She looked startled by the answer and he took that moment to do what he had wanted to do for weeks. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. Her hands settled on his biceps as his free hand cupped the back of her head, he searched her eyes for any hint that she didn’t want this, and dipped his head to capture her lips. She returned the kiss tentatively at first, then she slid her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss._

_He pulled back first and could see the unfocused look in her eyes. Her lips were swollen, and her cheek slightly reddened by the stubble of his beard, but she didn’t look angry. He hadn’t intended on kissing her, but he didn’t regret it and she certainly had not pushed him away._

_“Stay with me tonight.” He said it like a command but knew she would tell him no if that was what she wanted._

_She followed him to his room and they sat up against his headboard talking most of the night. He told her about his sister and how she had been killed by a suicide bomber on the day he was supposed to take to her rehearsal. How he had fled home to find a way to make it up to his parents and make sure that no other family would suffer what they had. She listened to him talk as his voice grew gravely with the need to sleep. The confession sealed her faith in him as a partner and she listened as they slid down on the bed and faced each other._

_He didn’t try to kiss her again, but he grew quiet as her eyelids began to droop. He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before reaching to the foot of the bed and covering her with a light blanket. Amir had fallen asleep, and in the morning had woken up to find her curled around him. It had been the best night’s sleep he had had in years._

Andy walked into the mansion and smiled at Rosalee, the maid that had been kind to her, but fiercely loyal to Adrian. She walked into the master bedroom she shared with the man and stashed her gun in one of the many purses on her side of the closet. She changed locations every time she stepped foot in the house, but she hated that it wasn’t right next to her. Her luggage was unpacked, and she changed into a pair of loose fit sweatpants, a tank top and pulled on a sweater to ward off the chilly evening, to wait for Adrian down in the media room.

She had staked out the places to hide her cameras that Preach wanted placed but knew that with a cleaning crew coming in the day before the party, she was going to have to wait until the night before. Being so close to the end, she was anxious to finally be finished with the mission. Looking at her watch, she sipped sparkling water and turned on the evening news as she waited for the inevitable.

Adrian was not a bad looking guy, he was tall with a square jaw and stubble that was faint enough to be sexy, but not look like he was trying. His sandy colored hair was wavy and thick and when she had met him in the bar by accident, she had been instantly attracted. It was as she had stepped into the ladies’ room that she had received an urgent text from her handler that the man she had spent an hour flirting with was a man the CIA had been keeping an eye on as part of a sex trade ring. It had been hard to go back out and pretend to still be attracted to him.

She heard the front door close and rose to go and greet the man that had wined and dined her more than any man ever had. Andy had made him work for her attention, he had enjoyed the chase, and now that he had proposed, he had grown possessive. Part of her enjoyed the attention, had wanted to be the center of a man’s world, but she knew it was all fake.

Adrian grinned when he saw her standing at the foot of the stairs with her hair loose around her shoulders and a smile meant for only him. He pulled her into his arms and thoroughly kissed her in greeting. “Andrea, my love, I have missed you,” he whispered before she turned and walked him up the stairs.

“I missed you too. How was your trip?” she answered wrapping her arm around his waist. He proceeded to tell her meaningless information about his trip and the people involved.

“Peter will be coming to the gala as well. He had been on the fence until I beat him at tennis this morning.” Adrian continued to talk as she climbed up on the counter in his closet and watched him remove his watch, the money clip he always wore, and his cell phone. He stripped down to boxers and she pretended to admire his form with hungry eyes.

“I have two more guests that had been iffy. My brother will be here tomorrow for dinner with his girlfriend.” Andy told him with her own enthusiasm. She watched as the slight irritation of unexpected guests flickered across his face and braced for a fight before his face transformed into that of an enthusiastic fiancé.

“Wonderful!” Adrian responded before lifting her off the counter and carrying her out into the bedroom. 

Later than night, Andy found the bed beside her empty and padded down the stairs to Adrian’s office. She could hear him talking to someone on the phone and crept close to the door. “Run a check on her brother and this girlfriend.” She heard him order and grinned as her plan fell into place. She sprinted back up the stairs when she heard him end the conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you for the kind words


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one and both sites are sync'd. I will post another chapter tomorrow after work. thank you to everyone that has been so supportive on here, twitter and other places. Much appreciated. 
> 
> This fandom has been the most amazing thing to be apart of and I love all of you!

Chapter 7:

The next morning, Andy was up with the sun as always and found Adrian getting ready to take his own run. “You want to wait for me and we can go together?” she asked wrapping arms around him from behind. She felt him cover her hands with his own and rested her head between his shoulder blades.

“Of course, but hurry up, I have an early meeting in town,” he replied pressing a kiss to her knuckles then releasing her, and she went to change.

He waited for her at the bottom of the stairs and they proceeded through the kitchen and out the back of the house that lead to a running path towards the base of the hill the house sat on. As they made the turn onto the public path, she noticed the dark sedan that had been following her.

“Adrian, is that one of yours?” she questioned motioning towards the car. She was curious if he was the one having her followed.

“No, why do you ask?” he questioned looking genuinely surprised by her question. Andy nearly stopped when she realized he wasn’t faking the unexpectedness of the question.

“I noticed I was being followed right after you left on Thursday last week. During the field trip to the temple, I noticed he was following my group. I thought you had hired me a security detail and wanted to be introduced to them. You had mentioned it before you left, and I assumed he was your man,” Andy explained as they slowed their pace.

“I would never hire someone without telling you first. I wouldn’t want to scare you,” he replied and came to a stop near their usual spot where the path bent close to the cliffs. “Your bodyguard was going to start on Friday night. I had hoped to have your input.”

Andy’s mind was racing as she processed the information. If Adrian wasn’t having her followed, then who was the man following her? And why was she being targeted? “Adrian, who’s following me then?” she questioned adding just a touch of fear into her voice.  
Adrian pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. “I don’t know, but I will find out. I will have Marcus drive you to school today and pick you up after.”

“My brother was going to pick me up on their way to the house, I’ll be safe with him,” Andy informed him with steady assurance as they started back to the house.

Adam and Preach sat in the car not far from the park bench where Adrian and Andy had stopped. The bug they had planted on the bench picking up the conversation with ease. Jaz, McG, and Amir had been carefully hidden along the footpath keeping an eye out for Andy’s tail. Preach and Adam had shared a look when it was revealed the tail wasn’t Adrian’s man. 

“Who is the body guard that was hired?” Adam asked Noah over comms.

“He hasn’t made a decision yet.” Hannah replied moving easily through the files and connections to the company Adrian used to employ his security detail.

“Any way we can get someone on the inside?” Adam questioned pulling at his lip.

Noah and Hannah looked to Patricia before watching her nod in agreement. “It’s going to have to be either Preach or McGuire. Amir has already been put into play.”

“Preach?” Adam questioned looking at his old friend.

“I think McGuire would be the better fit.” Preach answered honestly, “He fits the rest of the crew Adrian already has around him.” Adam nodded, and Noah confirmed they would start building him a deep cover.

Marcus drove Andy to the school as she sent a quick message to her brother that she was anxious to see him that afternoon and to covertly let him know that she was on the move. Adrian had been spooked that morning and she knew that Adam and his team had heard the conversation and were working the problem. It was rare for her to feel so unbalanced by her situation and she felt tense as she climbed out of the car. She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked into the school glancing around cautiously. Her tail was at the end of the block on his cell phone. She was disappointed that Marcus didn’t even notice him.

When she arrived in her classroom, she noticed that her star globe had been moved slightly. She approached her desk cautiously, set her bag down and lifted the base. There was a piece of paper taped to the underside. 

**_Earwig and button cam inside desk. Don’t argue._**

Adam clearly was not letting her be out of communication the rest of the op. She was okay with that, but knowing her classroom was bugged after so carefully checking it for the last six months, made her edgy. She quickly slipped the earwig in and pulled her hair into a low side ponytail that covered her right ear. The button cam was easy to attach to her collar and within minutes, she heard familiar voices in her ear.

“Good morning,” she stated quietly while she sipped her coffee and began to ready her classroom for the day’s lessons. She turned on the radio low so that the noise of her talking to herself would seem like she might just be singing under her breath.

“The Russians have apparently taken an interest in you Andy,” Deputy Director Campbell’s voice informed her.

“Not sure why, I’ve never been to Russia,” Andy replied setting out the markers and crayons at each team of desks. She moved with ease around the room, briefly considered leaving the blinds closed, but knew that Adam would have someone up on the room across the way watching her.

“Perhaps it has something to do with your fiancé?” Amir suggested with a slight note of sarcasm. It was barely there, but she heard it and she wondered if anyone on his team noticed. Andy rolled her eyes to herself.

“If that is the case, it would explain why he was genuinely spooked this morning. I wonder if something has gone wrong with the plans for Saturday.” Andy rapidly worked her way through the guest list in her head before she heard the voices of the students entering the building. 

“Do me a favor today while I’m teaching? Keep the chatter to a minimum. I’m not used to people talking in my head all day,” Andy requested with a hint of anxiety.

Jaz looked over at Top with concern. Andy was rock solid in the field according to Amir, mission focused and ready to do her job. “Kids require more focus. Plus, they are innocent lives that she is protecting while she’s in that classroom,” Preach answered with a shrug from the backseat.

They isolated Andy’s feed so that only Hannah spoke to her throughout the day. Everything was as it should be, the kids were well behaved, and recess provided a much-needed break from the confined space of a classroom. She took her students out to the playground to burn off energy after lunch so that they would be able to focus on the spelling lesson she had scheduled for that afternoon. She sat on a picnic table and watched over her students with a grin. This part of her cover she enjoyed. Kids were so innocent and played with such abandon that she found herself able to relax.

She noticed the man against the fence line and bit back a groan of frustration. Why did the bad guys not know boundaries? “Hannah, my ten o’clock,” she whispered as she climbed from the picnic table. She moved casually in a circuit around the playground and made sure that they could get a clear shot of the guy following her. “Don’t these guys have limits? Stay away from the kids,” she mumbled angrily.

“Andy, focus,” Adam scolded to himself more than anything because he knew she couldn’t hear him.

Jaz kept an eye on the man in the blue windbreaker and watched as he fiddled with his cell phone. It looked like he was taking pictures. “I get the feeling they are not after her because she’s CIA. So, what did Dimakos do to piss off the Russians?” she questioned as she itched to reach for her rifle but knew that it was tucked away so that someone walking by wouldn’t see it.

“That’s what worries me. We need to get a copy of that guest list,” Adam stated once again running a hand over his beard.

Jaz could see that he was anxious sitting there in the car with nothing to do. There wasn’t a way to make it easier, they just had to wait patiently until the end of the school day. The waiting also gave Jaz time to think about Andy and Amir. Amir rarely shared anything of his past with the team, at least regarding his time with the CIA. She knew he had been recruited and that he had done well enough that he had spent three years working alone, but how had he been before that? Before working alone was his only way of life?

“How did Andy get involved with the CIA?” Jaz questioned looking over at the man she considered her partner. He glanced over at her with that half smile of his that made her wonder what he was thinking.

“Patricia. Andy applied for an internship while I was deployed, right after Andy started college in DC. She found out that Andy was my sister and good with languages, gave her the opportunity. Andy worked as an analyst for a time with the DIA, she helped on one of our missions and impressed Patricia enough that she was encouraged to try for the CIA.” Adam thought back to the conversation with Andy the day she completed her training and he had been home one leave.

It was just before she was sent out on her first official op and they came up with the code words for when either one of them were in distress. They told no one in case they were compromised in some way. In fact, they had never used it until now. Thinking back on it, he wondered if she would have used it in Germany. 

When his team had been called in for the exfil in Germany, they had not been given any details other than it being a CIA team posed as a couple and the address. Elijah Vallins and McG had recently joined the team, Jimmy had announced he was retiring and Dalton had been in the process of figuring out his replacement. The last thing he had expected when he had approached the door of the small farm house was the bloody handprint on the door frame and drops of blood leading to the alleyway.

_“Top,” Preach whispered pointing to the smeared handprint. They each reached for their side arms and started sweeping the house. They found a pool of blood in the living room and the handprints of someone having dragged themselves to the door._

_“Top, got a body,” Jimmy called out from the kitchen. Top entered the kitchen and stared down at the body of a middle-aged man, a single gunshot to the head._

_“He’s not ours,” Patricia stated in his ear. Adam breathed a sigh of relief._

_“Top, found a trail,” McG had called out from the front of the house. Adam followed him out the front of the house and into the narrow alley that lead to an open field. The wheat was tall as it was late summer and not quite harvest time yet. They followed the blood to a dense patch of crushed wheat. They approached the body of a woman with dark hair lying face down in the dirt and Adam felt his gut tighten as McG went to check for a pulse. McG nodded indicating he had found a pulse and slowly turned her over.  
McG turned the woman over looking for her injury as her entire front was covered in blood. She moaned as she reached to push the hair from her face. He heard Adam draw in a sharp breath. McG looked down at her and recognized the blue eyes staring up at him. “Where are you hurt?” he demanded reaching for her the hem of her shirt. She started rattling in German._

_“Andy, where are you hurt?” Adam demanded kneeling next to him. The woman looked up at Top with confused recognition._

_“He shot me in the stomach,” she answered in English. She sounded exhausted._

_“McG, get that bleeding under control,” Top ordered reaching for her hand. McG gave him a questioning look. Top wasn’t following procedure to confirm her identity, but he clearly knew the woman. “She’s my sister,” Top answered. “Stay with me Andy,” he ordered holding her hand._

_McG continued to work on Andy and somehow managed to control the bleeding enough until a chopper landed nearby to take them to Ramstein AFB and the nearest military hospital. He stayed with her as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Her blood pressure was low, and she was still losing blood. The bullet had not exited, and McG was concerned about it rolling around in her gut doing more damaged. They landed, and Andy was loaded onto a gurney on the roof of the hospital and McG followed giving a rundown of what he had done for treatment as Top followed behind._

_Hours later, Andy was out of surgery and stable. The rest of the team had cleared the safe house and burned all necessary information, but there was no sign of her partner. They had searched the area but found nothing. The CIA had informed Patricia that it was part of the cover and the information was need to know._

_“That’s all well and good, but what if she asks where he is?” Adam demanded._

_“Tell her that he is alive and that is all that matters. They accomplished their mission,” she answered._

_“You know that she’s not going to accept that answer, don’t you?”_

_“She’s going to have to. It’s all Langley is giving us,” Patricia answered with resignation. Andy could be as stubborn as her brother and Patricia knew that Andy would probably pursue the information she wanted once she was back on her feet again.  
McG sat by Andy’s bedside while Top was on the phone with DIA and he was there as she opened her eyes for the first time. She blinked in confusion and then he watched as the realization dawned on her. She groaned and attempted to roll over._

_“I wouldn’t recommend that,” he stated simply. She immediately moved her eyes in his direction._

_“Joseph McGuire, medic,” she stated as if answering an internal question._

_“Not fair that you know me, but I don’t know you,” he laughed standing and moving closer to her bedside._

_“Andrea Turner, everyone calls me Andy,” she replied trying to find a comfortable position that she could sit up more._

_“Top’s sister. He didn’t mention you were CIA,” he finished looking down at her pale face._

_“Where’s my partner?” she questioned wincing again as a stitch pulled in her side. She also had ignored the CIA comment._

_“Patricia says mission accomplished and he’s alive. Now who shot you?” Adam demanded re-entering the room._

_“Hello to you too, big brother,” she answered breathing through the pain. “My partner shot me to keep our cover, clearly it worked, or she wouldn’t have said mission accomplished. Now I just have to pray that he stays safe.” She closed her eyes briefly and wished she could see Amir in person to know he was okay._

_“Why did he have to shoot you to keep his cover?” McG questioned looking on confused._

_“It was a test and a way to save my life by not dragging me into the next mission. I wouldn’t have been able to follow him, and they would have killed me anyway.” She answered the questions, but McG could see it was wearing her out to be interrogated._

_“Was the plan to actually kill you? Because that’s what he almost did.” Adam was pissed that she was taking the whole thing so lightly._

_“It wasn’t supposed to happen that way,” she mumbled closing her eyes._

“Top?” Jaz questioned drawing his attention back to the present.

“She should be done for the day soon,” he answered sitting up in the seat to track the Russian following his sister. He watched the guy leave his post by the fence. 

“Do we have an I.D. on this Russian?”

“Dimitri Petrov, Russian national, gun for hire,” Noah announced in his ear.

“Any idea who hired him this time?”

“Still working on it,” Noah answered sounding equally frustrated. Adam ground his teeth to keep from snapping as he and Jaz made sure the car was cleared of any evidence before they moved to circle the block and pick up his sister.

Andy packed up her classroom and swore under her breath when Perro came into her classroom as the last student left. “Mr. Perro, what can I do for you?” she questioned with a smile fixed on her face.

“I was wondering if you had finalized the guest list for this weekend,” he stated rubbing his hands together. 

“We were going to finalize it this evening because we’ve had some last-minute updates. Why?” she questioned pulling the strap of her bag over her shoulder. She wondered what he was angling for as they began the walk outside.

“Mr. Fischer has decided to enroll his daughter and I might have mentioned that we were all going to your engagement party this weekend and somehow I invited him to join in.” Perro sounded genuinely confounded on how he had been maneuvered into the invite but knowing he had been maneuvered. She bit back a grin knowing that Amir had worked his own brand of magic to get himself inside for the party.

“It’s perfectly fine Mr. Perro, the more the merrier,” she assured him. “I really must be going though; my brother and his girlfriend are picking me up today.” She looked up and spotted Adam and Jaz standing outside their vehicle. She waved over to them and said her goodbyes.

They put on a show of hugging each other and smiling. Adam introduced her to Jaz and she hugged Jaz as though they were old friends. Jaz whispered in her ear that her tail was close by and they should get going. When Andy slid in the backseat, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Any more news on my Russian tail?” she asked itching to be free of her earwig. 

“His name is Dimitri Petrov, professional gun for hire. Our guess is that it has something to do with Adrian. We are going to need a copy of your guest list for Saturday. Hopefully it will help us connect the dots and get this figured out before we go in,” Jaz informed her while Adam negotiated traffic.

“I have been running the names discreetly, but Adrian told me last night Peter Semenov is coming, and he had been a solid maybe last week. He is a business rival and old friend of Adrian’s. The story is they had a falling out nearly four years ago and they only recently started mending fences. I’m not sure what the falling out was over, but it had something to do with his cousin Irene. I think Adrian stood her up at the altar?”

Andy watched Jaz and Adam exchange a look that made her feel like they were having an entire conversation, and she smothered a grin. It was interesting getting to watch Adam work in person for once. The years of watching from afar had been filled with anxiety until she learned how to manage the risks that came with his job and led her to believe she could also make a difference like he did. The one thing she had not seen though in the thirteen years she had known her brother, the look he gave the woman beside him. It spoke of understanding, faith and trust in his partner. Maybe something more.

She filed away the information as they pulled into the driveway of Adrian’s house. Taking a deep breath, she settled back into Andrea Weber, the strong, but soft-spoken school teacher. Marcus opened her car door when they pulled to a stop and she smiled up at him. He nodded, and she turned to introduce her brother.

“Marcus, this is Adam, my brother, and his girlfriend Tasha Bellerose. They will be coming to the engagement party on Saturday,” Andy stated as her brother and Jaz shook his hand. Behind his back, Jaz shot her a look that Andy knew meant she didn’t like the frilly last name. Andy simply smiled warmly.

Adrian chose that moment to step out on to the front steps, his arms spread wide in greeting. “Welcome!”

Andy walked up and wrapped her arms around him with a smile. “You’re home early, I thought you would be working until at least six. I was going to have dinner waiting for you,” she said with excitement and confusion.

“I couldn’t let you entertain your family without me here. You hardly speak about them and I want to hear all about little Andy with pigtails. I’ve never seen pictures of you as a child, but I have to imagine Adam has plenty of stories he can share,” Adrian boasted reaching out a hand for Adam to shake. Adam took his hand in a firm grip before he turned to Jaz. “And you must be the lovely Tasha. Andrea has been most anxious to meet the woman who has stolen her brother’s heart,” he had added reaching for Jaz’s hand and placing a kiss across her knuckles. 

Andy watched Adam’s face as a flicker of irritation crossed it. She raised an eyebrow at him with a grin. Andy might have embellished slightly on their relationship, but she enjoyed making her brother squirm. Jaz for her part played Adrian like a fiddle while they all walked inside. Andy looped her arm through Adam’s and whispered to him, “Is she going to kill me in my sleep?”

“Nope, she’ll get her revenge in other ways,” he promised, and she groaned inwardly. Adam laughed as they walked in the house. He gave her a reassuring squeeze and she smiled up at him. He’d missed his sister and despite the circumstances, he was glad to be there.

“Andrea has promised to make her favorite pasta,” Adrian informed Jaz as he leads her into the kitchen. 

“Yes, because it is the only thing I can make without hours of prep time. I’m going to go upstairs and freshen up really quick. Adrian, love, play nice,” she ordered disengaging her arm from Adam. 

Andy made her way up the stairs and stashed her gun. She changed into a loose fitting grey sweater and darker grey leggings before slipping on a pair of flats. Tossing the laundry in the corner, she stepped out and found Jaz leaning against the wall. Andy raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk. “I get the ninja reference now,” Andy commented crossing her arms.

“You seem to know an awful lot about everyone on our team considering we hardly know you,” Jaz commented casually. It was slightly unnerving and reminded her of how Alex Hoffman had known so much about them without having ever met them.

“I know some better than others. I know because Adam tells me and because I like to know who my brother is working with and who has his back. He’s the only family I have,” Andy replied looking over at the woman beside her. Jaz, she could tell was looking out for her team and her brother. “I called you in, because if he trusts you, then I trust you. Come on, we’ll go to my office and get that guest list.” Andy led the way down the hall to the small room with a view of the water from the back windows.

“Amir has managed to add himself to the guest list, so we’ll have three on the inside and I know he’ll be able to get to the entrance to the tunnel in the kitchen without much trouble. I’m assuming you have a plan to get Preach and McG in somehow?” Andy questioned handing over the thumb drive. Jaz nodded, but didn’t elaborate. It was easier to keep the plan fluid if the team kept certain aspects to themselves, it allowed Andy to have natural reactions.

“Top said you were a terrible cook,” Jaz offered as the descended the stairs. Andy rolled her eyes with a smile.

“He hasn’t lived with me in over a decade. I have learned a few things over the years,” Andy laughed as they entered the kitchen. Jaz laughed too, and the men looked up as they entered the room.

Jaz moved to stand beside Adam, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and Andy smiled when she watched his arm snake around her waist. The ease of the affection he showed her is what Andy noticed as she turned to fill a pot of water on the stove. She moved around the kitchen with practiced ease and she could almost pretend that she was in a normal relationship and her brother was there for a visit and she wasn’t playing with fire.

Jaz watched as Andy moved around and listened intently to the conversation around them, but she couldn’t help feeling distracted by Top’s thumb rubbing circles on her lower back. It was always hard to keep the line of CO and subordinate in her mind when they went undercover as a couple, and time away from him during leave had done little to erase that feeling. She moved slightly away from his hand and he must have realized what he was doing, because his hand settled on her hip. Jaz got the impression that he was in someway marking his territory and had to fight to not roll her eyes as she joined back in the discussion.


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter! Hints of Jalton and some love...

Chapter 8:

In a van down the road, Amir stood watch over the body cams that Dalton and Jaz wore, Andy had removed hers and seemed disinclined to put it back on. He watched as Andy moved around that kitchen and spoke as casually as though she were home with her real friends and not in the house of a man that specialized in kidnapping underage girls. McG and Preach were searching along the perimeter for the breach points to the underground tunnels that were on the maps provided by Andy.

_Amir didn’t mention the kiss he had shared with Andy and she didn’t bring it up either. They pretended it didn’t happen for weeks, but they grew closer as friends and partners. On drills, she matched his intensity and the undercover work became second nature to him thanks to her encouragement. They were a perfect match set and when they were paired with other people, the instructors noted their ability to adapt, but together there was no denying the chemistry._

_It wasn’t until the first time he had seen Andy get drunk, that she brought it up again. It had been a rough day and she had shown up in his room with a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses. “I don’t drink,” he explained as she held up a glass for him._

_“I figured you didn’t. I came prepared!” she declared holding up a bottle of club soda. He laughed and stepped aside to let her in._

_“So why are you drinking?” He questioned as she downed her third shot in under ten minutes. They were sitting with their backs to the bed and legs extended out in front of them._

_“I sold my aunt’s house today. It’s the only home I’ve ever known and when she died about six years ago, I couldn’t bring myself to sell it right away. It was paid off, so I had kept it and rented it out. When I got in here, I decided it was time to let it go. I didn’t expect to be so upset by it,” she answered sniffing._

_“What about your parents?” he asked as he watched her pour herself another shot. She downed it with a wince and she swiped at the tears that had suddenly appeared._

_“Well, mom died of a heart attack when I was seventeen and dad… well let’s just say I was not part of the plan. Then it didn’t matter because he died too. So, I’m an orphan and the only family member that will acknowledge I exist is my half-brother that is currently overseas serving this beautiful country of ours,” she explained with a hint of sarcasm and leaned her head against the bed beside him._

_“So, it’s been a rough week. We’ll get through it together,” he stated reaching for her hand. She raised an eyebrow at him._

_“I should probably go. I’m well on my way to drunk and I am not fun to be around when I’m drunk.” He watched her attempt to stand and then fall back on to her rear end._

_“I think you are beyond drunk at this point,” he stated helping her up this time. She nodded and looked him in the eye._

_“Why did you kiss me?” she asked before she could stop the question. She held her breath and searched his eyes for the honesty she knew he would give her._

_“Because I’ve wanted to kiss you since the day I met you.” His confessed, and he wondered what she was thinking._

_“Why haven’t you kissed me again?” she probed swallowing down the rising nerves._

_“I didn’t think you wanted me to,” he answered as she slipped her hands up his arms._

_“That’s a lie.”_

_“You make me nervous.”_

_“Why?” She looked honestly confused by this statement._

_“Because I’ve been falling in love with you since I first kissed you,” he whispered leaning his forehead against hers. He felt her take a deep breath before he pulled back to look her in the eye._

_“Am I really drunk, or did you just say you were in love with me?” she whispered back to him. She sounded awed by this prospect. She looked hopeful too, and he leaned in to kiss her again._

Preach and McG pulled open the doors on the van and pulled Amir from his memories. Preach gave him a raised eyebrow and McG went back to checking the monitors. He had been giving Amir the cold shoulder since they landed in Greece and if Preach didn’t know better, he’d think McG was angry about the mission four years ago.

“Anything of interest on the cameras?” Preach asks as they settle in with their headphones.

“No, they’ve mostly been in the kitchen. They are getting the nickel tour after dinner,” Amir answered before slipping back into silence. He was focused on Andy again.

McG was focused on Amir more than the images playing across the screen. He thought about the day he met Andy and the partner she had spoken of and tried to reconcile that with the man he had grown to know. Amir was loyal but didn’t hesitate when he questioned risks people were willing to take for a teammate. He wondered if that came from the day he shot Andy.

“Who found her?” Amir questioned softly after about an hour. 

McG and Preach shared a look as they both thought back to that day. They had missed their first meeting with Amir by about an hour. McG had been covered in Andy’s blood until they had landed in Ramstein and she had been taken into surgery. He still remembered her nearly bleeding out on the chopper.

“Me and Top,” McG answered after a moment. He looked at Amir as he processed this information. Amir was quiet, but McG could see the guilt that was still eating at him. “She told us you saved her life. You shot her when you were recruited, didn’t you?” McG guessed and at Amir’s sharp look, concluded that he had hit his target.

“They wanted me to prove I was loyal by killing my American wife. I had to make it look like I was actually trying to kill her. I didn’t know until I was pulled out that she had survived,” he confessed. Again, McG looked to Preach who was watching quietly.

Jaz and Andy were standing on the back patio looking out over the pool, each nursing a glass of wine, but not actually drinking anything from it. “So exactly how well do you know Amir?” Jaz questioned quietly. Andy glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Well enough that when Adam was looking to fill the open spot on his team, I recommended Amir. I wanted someone watching my brother’s back that I trusted. I knew Amir would also need someone he could trust after three years of being alone,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. She was careful not to say Elijah’s replacement, knowing that he had been especially close to Jaz.

“You aren’t close with your sisters?” Jaz asked keeping her eyes trained on the surrounding area.

“No, Amelia and Abby want nothing to do with me. I’ve tried a few times over the years, but I can take a hint. I used to send Christmas cards to them each year, but when I finished school I realized it was never going to matter. Adam made sure I was always able to get in touch, always made sure I knew he was there if I needed him. I’ve never been able to figure out why other than that is just who he is,” Andy confessed. Jaz was someone that Andy had instantly respected having seen some of her file, but meeting her in person, Andy trusted her with the truth. Adam had amazing instincts when it came to trusting people, and she could tell that Jaz was one of the people he trusted most. 

Throughout dinner, she had watched Adam and Jaz exchange casual glances and it reminded her of the times when she and Amir could look at each other the same way. It made her miss her partner, but having worked alone for so many years, she wasn’t sure she could go back to working with a team. Amir had worked so hard to help her believe that people didn’t always have to leave, but then he had shot her and left her on her own. She had crawled out to that wheat field to die under the stars because she had felt like half of her heart had been taken from her and she didn’t know if help would arrive.

“Andrea, are you alright?” Adrian questioned having approached unnoticed by Andy. She blinked and instantly pulled on her mask of sweet charm as Adrian pulled her into his arms.

“Yes, just been a long week. Wondering about that man that has been following me. He was at the school today. He looked like he was taking pictures,” she confessed to him and watched as the anger built in his eyes. If she had not seen men more violent than him, she would have been worried.

“Someone was taking pictures of you?” Adam questioned playing dumb as he stood beside Jaz. “Why didn’t you say anything?” he demanded angrily, in full protective big brother mode.

“It’s not a big deal, Adrian has someone dealing with it and he’s hiring me a bodyguard,” she answered soothing her brother. Adrian had tucked her against his side and she could feel his fingers digging almost painfully against her hip.

“Yes, it will be taken care of,” Adrian confirmed pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

Adam watched the slight wince on his sister’s face and felt Jaz lace her fingers through his to get his fist to relax. He glanced at her and pulled her to his side. Adam needed to get his sister out of this situation. Saturday could not come quick enough.

“We should get going, we still need to check into the hotel,” Jaz suggested when she realized that Top was not inclined to leave just yet. She knew that it was going to be hard to let her out of his sight now that he knew that there were multiple threats. He was never good at letting his team take the risks and she didn’t think it was any different with his sister.

“Tasha, you should join Andrea for her spa day Saturday morning before the engagement party. It will give you two a chance to bond,” Adrian insisted, and Jaz looked at Andy with a raised eyebrow.

“That could be fun. But I don’t want to impose if you two have plans,” Andy replied looking between her brother and Jaz. She was trying to give them a plausible out if they had plans to prep for the extraction of the women they were trying to free.

“No, we hadn’t made any firm plans yet, Tash should join you,” Adam insisted playing with the ends of Jaz’s hair affectionately. She looked up at him and smiled.

“Sounds like fun,” she answered before smiling at Andy. Andy smiled back and nodded confirming their plans.

“Well then it is settled, you ladies will have a fabulous day and then we will spend the evening celebrating,” Adrian announced before moving to grip Jaz by both shoulders and kissing each of her cheeks.

Adam ground his teeth as Adrian put his hands on Jaz. This man was rapidly starting to get on his nerves. All evening he had found a way to touch Jaz in some way and it had not escaped his notice. He wondered if it had Andy’s. He looked at his sister and the grip she had on the wine glass in her hand. She looked up at him over Adrian’s shoulder and knew that she saw it too.

“Alright, let’s let my brother and Tash get to the hotel, I’m sure they are exhausted from their long trip,” Andy insisted tapping Adrian’s elbow. He turned and glared at her before turning back to his brother.

“Of course! Come we’ll walk you out,” he stated before motioning towards the front of the house. 

Andy looked at Adrian and felt like something had shifted. Her gut was churning as she walked beside him a step behind Jaz and Adam to the front door. She couldn’t pin what was wrong, but she felt like something was wrong. She itched to leave with her brother but knew that she had to remain vigilant and get the girls out. That was the end game. She would focus, and she would get her job done.

Adam hugged her and whispered in her ear that they would be watching and listening. She needed to put the button cam back on and let them protect her. She gave him the eye as he pulled away and told him she would see him in a couple days. She turned to Jaz and he watched Adrian as the two of them hugged. Adrian had seemed charming for the first part of the evening, but somewhere in the middle of the evening he had turned into a different person. He smiled as Adrian met his eye and reached out to shake his hand.

“We’ll see you,” Adam stated as he ushered Jaz out the door.

Jaz and Top made it to the car and down the driveway before either of them speaks. “We need to get her out of there,” Jaz stated looking over at Top. He was gnawing on his lower lip as she spoke, and she knew that he was thinking the very same thing.

“Noah, can you check Adrian’s background for drug use?” Adam requested over comms. He had a feeling that was the only explanation for the rapid change in personality. They had barely had two glasses of wine and while he had seen people get drunk quickly, he wasn’t slurring like a drunk person.

Jaz looked at him concerned and as they pulled up to the safe house, they were met by McG. “Amir and Preach are racking out,” he explained from his seat watching the laptop screen. They had managed to plant a camera in Andy’s office, Adrian’s office, the kitchen and the main entrance. It was all they could risk before the party on Saturday night.

Jaz came around to stand behind McG and understood why he had distracted. Adrian and Andy were having a screaming match in the kitchen. “What are they arguing about?” she asked as Adam rounded the table at her question.

“How touchy feely he got with you,” was his response. Adam glanced over at Jaz and she frowned. They had wondered and now they had their answer.

“She couldn’t just let it go?” Jaz asked.

“No, if she had it would have made him suspicious. She has to play this out,” Top insisted as they watched. He hated sitting on the sidelines. “You two go rack out, we need to get sleep while we can,” he ordered pulling out a chair. Top unplugged the headphones and turned the volume down as he waited for them to listen.

McG and Jaz exchanged looks. McG shrugged knowing that there was no arguing with Top when he was like this. It was no different then when Jaz had been taken and when Preach had been in a coma. When Top felt one of his team was threatened, he did not rest until they were safe. Knowing his sister was involved, McG couldn’t help but feel the same way because if he had a sister, he would do the same thing. Then he glanced back at Jaz’s bedroom door that had just closed, he had done it before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've only got a few chapters left to write, but my work life is killing any extra free time to even write. Feedback is appreciated!


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again to all who have forked out the kudos and reviewed this story. In honor of Noah's birthday tomorrow - an early update with a little McG love!

Chapter 9:

Andy and Adrian went at it until she finally insisted that he go to bed. She was going to go for a swim to clear her head. The pool was heated and felt glorious as she swam lazily back and forth. He had been high, and she’d only seen him coming down from a high. He had taken something just before dinner was the only thing she could think of to explain the usually charming man she knew changing into a possessive womanizer.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw him standing at the edge of the pool with a towel. It was the second time that she had been too wrapped up in her own head to hear his approach. This was getting out of hand, but part of it was her own fault. She had allowed this to get bigger than she could handle before calling her brother.

“Are you still mad at me?” he questioned as she pulled herself out of the pool. He was giving her the puppy dog eyes as he handed her the towel. She glanced at him and wanted to say no, but she didn’t have it in her. So, she remained silent as she toweled dry and walked past him into the kitchen. She should have known better.

Amir watched in horror as she was shoved from behind by Adrian and he sent her sprawling across the tiled floor. Andy rolled to her side and glared up at the man. She pushed herself up and Amir could only see her face as she got to her feet. Adrian grabbed her by the arms and shoved her against the wall. Andy’s head bounced off the wall with an audible whack.

“What, what is it?” Top questioned seeing the horrified look on Amir’s face as he came back from taking a quick shower. Then he heard the harsh whispering. Top rounded the table and watched as Adrian leaned in close to Andy face, a hand around her throat. Finally, Adrian released her. Leaving her against the wall coughing. He watched as she moved to the sink to get a glass of water and leaned over it trying to catch her breath. “Wake McG, we are going to get her,” Top insisted his gut turning sour.

“Top, we can’t, it will blow her cover,” Amir replied standing up to face his CO. Top was vibrating with anger staring at that screen. He wanted to spring into action, but he knew that Amir was right. He had to let this play out. Andy left the kitchen and they could only guess she took the back staircase to go upstairs.

Andy was shaking with anger because she should never have let her guard down knowing how angry he had been earlier in the evening. She couldn’t fight back because it would have given her away, so now she had a bruised knee and bruises on her arms. She was sure if she looked at the mirror in the hall, so would have seen red marks on her throat as well.

When she entered the bedroom, she found Adrian passed out on the bed snoring loudly. She rolled her eyes, briefly contemplated getting her gun, and went to take a shower. She gathered her clothes and locked herself in the bathroom to survey the damage. As suspected, bruises were already forming in the shape of his hands on her upper arms, her throat was ringed as well, but her knee was most concerning at this point, it was swelling, and she was concerned that he may have done some real damage. Sighing, she knew she was going to have to have it looked at by someone. She removed her swimsuit and moved to stand under the spray of the shower. She slid to the floor of the shower and rested her head against the cold tile. She was failing her mission at this point and she had dragged her brother into it.

Pushing her hair from her face and taking a deep breath, she stood and washed away the anger and the frustration. She scrubbed her hair and when she finally felt like her skin was clean, she turned off the water. She dried herself quickly and dressed in the black leggings, black tank top, and black hoodie. She exited the bathroom only when she was certain that Adrian was still passed out. Stopping in her closet, she grabbed her gun, the earwig and the button cam and left the house.

Twenty minutes later, she stood outside the safe house and knew that Adam was up. She’d hoped he would be asleep but knew that luck was not on her side. She reached up to knock, but Amir opened the door ready to leave. He nearly collided with her before stepping back.

“What are you doing here?” Amir demanded staring at her. She could see Adam over his shoulder pulling on his jacket. He looked up at Amir’s question and immediately started towards the door.

“I need McG to look at my knee,” she answered stuffing her hands into her pockets. They both frowned at her and moved to let her in the house. McG was coming down the stairs as she limped into the living area to prop up her knee.

McG looked to Top and Amir with questioning eyes. He had just woken up to Top telling him to get dressed and grab his med bag. Now he knew why. “What the hell happen?” he asked her as he moved to sit on the coffee table across from her. She gave him a look that showed she really didn’t want to talk about it.

“Adrian happened,” Amir answered crossing his arms while he stood across from her.

“How did…?” she questioned looking up at Adam.

“We put cameras in the house,” he answered shoving his hands in his pockets. While McG rolled up the pant leg of her leggings. 

Andy winced as he reached the rapidly swelling knee cap and he started probing it with skilled and gentle fingers. “My feet were wet on the tiles when he shoved me, and I couldn’t catch myself, landed on the knee and heard a pop. It started to swell pretty quick,” she explained looking only at McG. McG was focused on her knee and shot her an encouraging smile.

“Look at her throat and arms when you’re done,” Amir added quietly. Andy glared over at him as McG shot her a look.

“Amir, go get me a bag of ice,” McG ordered, “Top, can you get a glass of water, so she can take a pain reliever?”

“Thanks,” she whispered knowing he had set them to tasks to get them to leave the room.

“This isn’t the first time, is it?” he asked softly as he wrapped her knee in an ace bandage. She looked him in the eye and gave a brief shake of her head. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

“No, this is the worst it’s been,” she answered softly. “A bruised arm here or there, but this is the first time he’s actually pushed me. We have to end this Saturday. He’s escalating, and I will fight back if he does this again even if it blows my cover,” she added as Adam re-entered the room with Amir.

“Let me take a look at the rest,” McG ordered, and she unzipped the hoodie. McG helped her get her arms out and hissed out a breath when he saw the livid bruises against her skin. “How old are these?” he questioned looking over the fading bruises to make sure there was nothing that needed attention. She shook her head. When he was done with each arm, he tilted her chin up so he could look at her neck. The finger marks were defined, and he pulled out a flashlight to check for damaged internally.

“Andy, how long has this been going on?” Top questioned standing behind McG. She looked up at him and over to Amir searching for an answer.

“Since he proposed. I think he has commitment issues that he is over compensating for by taking opioids or something. I noticed it three weeks ago and a couple days later is the first time the jealous rage presented itself. My handler was killed the following week and I wondered if he had ordered the hit thinking we were having an affair. I confirmed it was him and I called you the next day,” she answered as McG placed the ice on her knee. He handed her the meds and glass of water. She took each without comment.

“Where does he think you are now?” Adam questioned as he watched her slip her hoodie back on.

“I left him a note that I went back to my place,” she answered pulling her hair free from her shirt. Adam nodded and went back to pacing.

“What if he comes looking for her?” Amir questions as McG packs up his med kit.

“I’m going over there shortly, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t damage my knee too bad,” Andy replied looking to McG for confirmation.

“Bruised it really good, but no permanent damage. But Andy, you need to be careful,” McG answered with a warning.

“I do this for a living remember? So, do you,” she countered biting back in frustration. She wasn’t a teenager that needed protecting, she wasn’t a helpless woman either. With Jaz, they didn’t pull this crap, she was sure of it. “I need to get moving. I don’t want him finding me here.” She moved to stand and winced before steadying herself.

“Andy, no, you are in no condition to be by yourself,” Amir stated sounding frustrated. Adam looked to Amir and so did McG. Andy glared at him.

“I’ve been doing just fine on my own for the last four years. I’ll be fine,” she bit out before pulling her keys from her pocket. She squared her shoulders and moved to walk past them. She cursed the slight limp, but she couldn’t help it because her knee would not bend.

Adam watched his sister limp across the room. His sister’s stubborn streak was alive and well and it was the only reason he was letting her walk out of that room. He was not letting her walk out alone though. “Andy wait,” he ordered and watched her stop. She turned awkwardly to look at him.

“What?”

“You are in no condition to be alone when you have a team to help you. Accept the help. Amir and McG will go with you tonight. What if the Russians find out you’re injured? Do you think they will show restraint?” Adam questioned trying to get her to see reason. “You are still my sister and I told you that you are not alone,” he added and watched her bite her lip.

“Damn it you fight dirty,” she whispered looking down at her shoes. She looked up at him with resignation. “Fine, let’s go,” she stated motioning towards the door. She stood waiting as they grabbed their gear, staring at her brother.

“I fight for the people I care about,” he stated walking up to her. “For family, I fight dirty every time. You know that.”

Andy looked up at her brother and thought of the few conversations they had had since Jaz was taken and Preach was hurt. The man before her was rebuilding himself like he had been all those years ago when she had shown up on his front porch. He was stronger because he had a team that he cared about and cared about him in return. He looked lighter even with all that the past year had done to break him down.

“Thank you big brother,” she whispered before reaching up to hug him. He hugged her gently in return. He released her when Amir and McG made it back down the stairs with their gear.

“You two take care of her,” Adam ordered looking in particular at Amir. Amir and McG nodded and escorted her out the door.

Jaz came from around the corner and stood behind Top. “What happen?” she asked and watched him jump.

Top turned around and looked at Jaz. Jaz nearly took a step back seeing the raw emotion on his face. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact emotions because just as quickly as she saw them, they were gone. She watched as his face returned to a mask and she knew he had compartmentalized those feelings so that he could get the job done. 

“Adrian is not only a criminal that kidnaps underage girls, he is on his way to becoming a wife beater,” Top ground out stalking back to the kitchen. His face was a mask, but clearly, he was still reigning in those emotions.

Jaz followed and watched him pour himself another cup of coffee. She also watched as he poured her one. She smirked and moved to stand beside him at the counter. He glanced over at her as she picked up her mug and turned to lean against the counter. “She’ll fight back when she gets the opportunity. She is your sister after all,” Jaz assured him.

He smirked at her. He appreciated that she was trying to reassure him, even though logically he knew that his sister could handle herself. Top looked at the woman next to him as she sipped her coffee and he was reminded of the morning at the cabin. “What about you? How’s the foot doing?” He questioned as he moved to sit at the table. She looked over at him.

“Fine, already feels normal.” She sat on the chair across from him and he looked her over.

“Want to tell me what spooked you?” She looked up at that and knew that she was going to have to give him something. She had known him long enough to know when he was not going to let something go.

Taking a deep breath, she drew her knee up to her chest to rest her coffee mug on. “The snow.” He raised an eyebrow in question. “The snow and the quiet, it just reminded me of the room for a minute.” They both thought of the white room she had been held in while captured in Tehran.

“Are you still having nightmares?” he asked softly. He searched her face for the answer and knew that enough time had passed she would probably give him an honest answer.

“Only when I was on leave. They were bad being around my family, so I left. I spent our entire leave trying to stay ahead of them,” she confessed looking at her coffee mug. After a moment she looked up to see Top nod in understanding. 

“Take it from me, running doesn’t work. Talking does help,” he answered as he offered her a chance to talk. “I’m here if you want to talk.”

She nodded, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence. Top was watching the cameras they had placed, and she could tell he was still wound up, but tired. “Top, hit the hay. I got this,” she offered when he had yawned for the fourth time in twenty minutes. “Andy’s safe and we need to be sharp,” she added when he looked ready to argue.

Sighing, he nodded and vacated the seat in front of the laptop. “Good night,” he stated before climbing the stairs to catch some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Depending on the rest of my work week, I may update Sunday. If not it will be sometime next week.


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again for all the wonderful feedback

Chapter 10:

Amir scanned the apartment before they allowed Andy to enter. There were no bugs and no cameras. Andy let out a sigh of relief as she kicked off her sneakers. McG had stayed at her elbow climbing up the stairs, but the climb had exhausted her. Amir had watched the two of them and was surprised at how comfortable Andy was with McG. 

“Thank you for the escort. I’m going to go grab some blankets for you guys and a couple pillows,” she offered heading into her bedroom. She emerged moments later with pillows and blankets and plopped them on the edge of the sofa. “I have to still teach in the morning, so I’m going to hit the sack. If you need anything, let me know.”

“Do you have ice for your knee?” McG questioned knowing she would probably forget if he didn’t remind her.

She rolled her eyes as she turned to the kitchen and emerged moments later with three bottles of water and a bag of ice. McG took two of the bottles and offered one to Amir. Amir took one as they both watched Andy disappear into her bedroom and shut the door. McG looked over to Amir and saw a look he wasn’t familiar with on the other man’s face.

“Shit, you didn’t,” McG whispered looking at Amir.

“Didn’t what?” Amir demanded also in a whisper, but he knew. He knew that McG had guessed one of the secrets that he and Andy were keeping.

“You fell in love with your partner, didn’t you?” McG accused him.

“That is none of your business,” Amir retorted. He collapsed on the couch with a sigh and unlaced his shoes. McG had already volunteered first watch and Amir would sleep in the meantime.

“Are you still in love with her?” The curiosity was eating at him to get the details. The fact that Amir had shot her four years ago and he had been the one to find her bleeding out in a field was bugging him and he wanted to know more.

Amir remained silent for a time. He was rolling around the answer in his head. “I hadn’t seen her since the day I shot her until yesterday. I’m surprised she didn’t try to kill me,” Amir replied without answering the question.

“You know you totally just avoided answering that question, right?” McG stated calling him out on the avoidance.

“Only because I don’t know the answer.” Amir felt like no time had passed the moment he had seen her in that classroom, but then when she had shown up at the safe house later that day, he felt the chasm of the last four years. He honestly didn’t know how he felt about Andy.

Amir glanced at the man that had become his friend over the last year and smiled as McG accepted the truth from him. He nodded before stretching out on the couch, closed his eyes, and allowed his mind to empty for the night. Having Andy safely away from Adrian and under their protection, he felt himself drift to sleep easier than he had in a long time.

Around four a.m. Amir woke up to take his turn and allow McG to take at least a nap before they moved to over watch on the school. McG had just settled and fallen asleep when Amir heard something in the bedroom. Amir moved soundlessly to the door. He heard Andy inside and it sounded like she was having a nightmare. As silently as possible, Amir opened the bedroom door and looked inside to see Andy tossing and turning. He slipped inside the room and made his way to Andy’s bedside.  
Andy knew she was dreaming, she was actively trying to pull herself out, but the painkillers she had taken were keeping her under. Then she felt the bed dip and hands were gripping her and she finally broke free, her hand automatically reaching under her pillow for her gun. 

Amir had woken her out of a nightmare before and reached for her gun hand as he realized she was coming out of it. “Andy, it’s me,” he whispered as she swung up to a seating position. She looked at him with wild eyes and spotted him.

“Where am I?” she questioned looking at him in confusion. He watched the realization dawn on her. “Sorry, I haven’t had a nightmare in a while,” she whispered pushing the heavy fall of her hair away from her face.

She looked up at him with blue eyes that had haunted his dreams for years. He never thought he would see them again. Four years had done little to change her appearance, the wrinkles around her eyes were faint, but showed she laughed. She had a new scar above her right eyes in the shape of a crescent moon. Before he realized what he was doing, he reached out a hand to touch the scar.

“Paris,” she whispered an answer to the unasked question. “I was stopping a bomb maker for a terrorist cell trying to bomb a conference two years ago.”

Then he noticed the faint scar on her lip that he did recognize from when she had been eight years old and gotten into a fist fight with a girl at school because she had something cruel about her mother. He remembered thinking it was endearing the first time he noticed it.

Andy was studying Amir as he looked over her face like he had been blind and could now see for the first time. The wonder and hint of sadness tugged at her. “I’ve missed you,” she confessed looking him in the eye. 

His deep brown eyes met hers steadily. “I’ve missed you,” he replied before leaning in and capturing her lips. His hand reached up to thread his fingers through the dark fall of hair that he had spent hours running his fingers through a lifetime before. She kissed him back and he felt her reach up and take ahold of his shirt. She pulled him closer and his fingers dug against her scalped until she hissed pulling back. “What?” he demanded immediately releasing his grip on her.

“When Adrian slammed me against the wall, I banged my head. It’s just a little tender,” she admitted releasing his shirt as well. The spell of time and memories broken by the reality of the mission. She scooted back against the headboard and studied the man that she had spent years with learning his every look, every move and every twitch. The man before her was a stranger and it broke her heart a little.

“What?” he asked feeling self-conscious as she eyed him.

“Four years has changed you,” she stated quietly. She crossed her arms and studied him more. “You seem… lighter somehow. Happier even,” she explained before she reached up and brushed her fingers through his hair. She didn’t say that he also looked less haunted, less guarded.

“You don’t seem happy,” he replied without taking his eyes off her and also avoiding the observation. He watched her eyes shutter and she shut down. This was new to him. She had been an open canvas when he knew her. She shared everything with him and he never questioned whether she was giving him everything. The only time she hid who she was when it was a stranger and she was undercover.

“Being an operative doesn’t afford me that luxury,” she whispered, she hated that he could see she was unhappy. “I’m going to try and fall back asleep, I have to teach in the morning,” she added scooting back down the bed and rolling over before she yelped and grabbed her knee. Sighing in frustration, she rolled back over and propped her bad knee up on the pillow at the end of the bed staring up at the ceiling, so Amir couldn’t read any more than he had already.

“I’ll get you some more ice,” Amir offered before leaving the room. At the door, he turned to look back at the only woman he had ever loved, except she wasn’t the same person. Neither was he, but he had an answer to his question.

A couple hours later, Andy emerged from the bedroom, dressed for the day, long sleeves, long pants, a scarf around her neck, and a determined look on her face. McG noticed that she clearly hadn’t slept much, and Amir looked at her like she was a stranger and that concerned him. Andy walked with only a hint of a limp, as she headed to the kitchen and the fresh pot of coffee that Amir had made when he heard her get up.

She moved about the kitchen and pulled a travel mug from the cupboard to pour a cup. “Thank you for making coffee,” she whispered taking her first sip as she walked back into the living room.

“I remembered you didn’t function too well without at least that first cup,” Amir answered softly. She chuckled at that and nodded.

“I believe you used the phrase ‘grunting zombie’ at some point,” she replied with a smile. It didn’t reach her eyes and Amir wondered if he was responsible for the change.

“What time do you need to leave for school?” McG questioned as he packed up the gear they had brought over.

“Adam and Jaz are on their way to pick me up,” she answered calmly. “You two can’t be seen, in case my tail has found out I came home last night. Which, he probably has by now. Amir needs to stay away until Saturday night and you need to stay out of site until we figure out your cover. I will go and hope that the munchkins don’t decide to tackle me today,” she ordered as she picked up her school bag and purse.

Amir and McG nodded. “Try to keep the knee elevated and don’t stand too much,” McG ordered as she walked out. She waved at them and hobbled down the stairs.

Amir moved to the window that was covered and peaked out towards the street. Her tail was closer than normal as Andy climbed into the car with Top and Jaz. He watched the tail climb into a waiting grey sedan and take off after the trio. He radioed Top to let him know and received the acknowledgement.

Jaz looked over Andy and was impressed by her quiet strength to work through the pain. Jaz was silent as Andy climbed into the car. Andy thanked them for the pick up and reported the quiet evening. Jaz noticed she was considerably less bubbly than normal. She had dark circles under her eyes and the scarf she wore barely hid the bruises she had received the night before.

“Your tail picked us up already,” Top informed them as he pulled into traffic and set off towards the school.

“Figures, I didn’t think they would notice my absence until this morning. He was closer than normal though.” Top met her eyes in the review mirror and saw the concern.

“You can always call in to work,” he offered as he pulled up to the school.

“No, I don’t want to draw the attention to the injury and I don’t want to make the kids a target,” she answered as he pulled up to the curb. “I’ll see you later,” she stated climbing from the car. She managed to mask the limp as she walked into school.  
Adam watched his sister disappear into the school before moving out into the street again. They would swing back to pick up Amir and McG as well as Preach before splitting up between the mansion and the school.

Andy walked into her classroom and sat heavily on her desk chair. She opened the bottom desk drawer and propped her foot up to elevate the knee as McG had commanded and shook her head in amusement. It was weird working with a team that cared and acted as if she were part of the family. She thought back on the conversations she had had with Adam and his stories about the team, and she realized years earlier that he had made his own family. When they had shown up with Adam to get her out of Germany, it was the first time she had felt jealous of the team. She had written it off to the grief of losing her own partner. Now, seeing them together in their element, without the haze of the gunshot wound, she realized she wanted a family again.

She pulled out her phone and thumbed through to the picture of her with her students at the ruins the previous week. There were parents there too, helping with the chaperoning of the class. Kids with their parents smiling and having a good time had made her heart ache for her mother, but now she ached for another reason. Sighing in frustration, she turned off the screen and forced herself to get moving.

Preach had been watching the monitors in the van as Andy had thumbed through her phone and now as she moved around the classroom. She was a natural with kids and he thought about the conversations he had had with her over the years.

_Preach walked in the front door and smiled seeing his youngest clinging to Andy’s back as she raced around the backyard, both laughing. They were chasing his oldest with a squirt gun while she tried to fire back over her shoulder. Grace slid from Andy’s back and followed after her sister and Andy stepped away. He watched as she sat at the outdoor dining table and took pictures with her phone. Meredith walked up behind him and slid her arms around his waist._

_“Welcome home,” she whispered. He turned to smile down at her and knew that he would do anything for the woman in his arms._

_“I love you,” he stated and leaned down to brush a kiss on her lips. He heard the screen door slide open and the sound of his children entering the room._

_“Ewwww!” he heard them all say together. He pulled away and laughed before turning to scoop Chelsea up into his arms._

_Andy laughed seeing Preach with his family. Meredith had invited her over to dinner as she was between semesters and her husband was supposed to be gone most of the night. They had planned to watch movies with the girls until bedtime and then she would head back to her place. Now she felt like she was intruding on the precious time he had with his girls._

_“I thought you were going to be at the base all night,” Andy commented as she moved to the kitchen to pick up the stack of plates for dinner. She handed Grace a stack of napkins and Vanessa, his middle daughter, a stack of silverware. The routine was nothing new and they all moved to set the table. Chelsea moved to get the cups from the cupboard_

_“They finished with us earlier than planned,” Preach answered also moving to put hot pads on the table while Meredith grabbed the casserole dish._

_Andy nodded and they all sat together at the table and discussed their days as much as they could given that Andy and Preach weren’t able to discuss what they did or who they worked with outside of the office. The girls regaled them with stories of school and all the latest second and fifth grade gossip. Preach listened intently, offering sage advise that had his daughters rolling their eyes at their father._

_An hour later, the girls were again running around the backyard while Meredith, Preach and Andy sat watching and laughing. “Andy, have you ever thought about having a family?” Preach questioned thinking about the fact that in the couple years that he had known her, she had never brought someone around._

_Andy laughed a little and glanced over at him. “A couple times but haven’t met anyone that has come close enough to even try. Maybe one day,” she answered with a shrug of her shoulders. She didn’t sound entirely convinced that it would happen for her and Preach raised an eyebrow at his wife._

_“There is nothing more satisfying than coming home and watching your family laugh,” he stated looking at her pointedly._

_“Hopefully one day,” Andy answered with just enough wistfulness that Preach knew she meant it._

Preach studied Andy now and knew that the focused young woman he had met all those years ago itched for more than what she had now. She just had to believe she could have it. Maybe she could convince her brother he could have more too.


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are almost there Bravers. We will know our fate by end of the week. Hopefully we have a new season to look forward to and hopefully more inspiration for new stories. Thank you all for the amazing updates.

Chapter 11:

McG stood watch over the school through the day and watched as Andy interacted with the kids. As far as missions went, this one had been one of the easiest in a while. Their previous deployment had been rougher than any other deployment he had ever had previously. Truth be told, he was enjoying watching Andy interact with the team and wondered what it would be like if she were around more often. It would certainly make Amir squirm. He grinned to himself thinking about the look on Amir’s face when he had called him out for being in love with Andy.

McG refocused on the classroom when he spotted the door opening and someone carrying a bouquet of red roses. He watched Andy’s face register surprise and then curiosity as she pulled the card from the center. Then he saw very briefly the rage on her face. He was so startled he thought he had imagined it, but then he saw her bawl her fist with the card in it, and then she smoothed her face back into a smile. He watched as she turned to the back of her classroom and walk to a cupboard. She pulled out a stack of plastic cups and a pair of scissors.

He looked on confused as he watched Andy fill several cups with water and then proceed to pull roses from the bouquet, cut them and distribute them amongst the cups. Then she called a few students up to the front of the room to take a cup back to their group of desks. She then took the now empty vase to the back of the classroom and set it in the sink.

“Any idea who the flowers were from?” he questioned over comms. Andy’s reaction had been smart, but he caught her glancing towards him and opening the windows wider.

“Couldn’t make out the card,” Noah answered already reviewing the footage to find out the answer.

“Whoever it was, she was not happy. Although, the girls in the classroom are pretty excited,” Jaz observed with a slight smile. She glanced over at Top sitting next to her in front of the monitors.

Top frowned as he watched his sister. She was disturbed by whoever sent the flowers. He had a feeling it wasn’t Adrian though because her reaction was off. If it had been Adrian, attempting to apologize for the night before, she would have been prepared with a reaction. He could tell that was who she had been expecting them to be from, but when they weren’t she hadn’t been able to fully mask her reaction.

“Anyone know who delivered the flowers?” Preach questioned from his spot down the road from the school. He hadn’t seen the flower delivery van or anyone walking in with the flowers.

“Andy, we need to see the card,” Hannah informed her while she had her back to the classroom.

“Class we are going to head out for recess,” Andy announced turning around. She glanced at the students slightly confused faces because they knew it was early, but eventually gave in to the change in schedule. She moved to her desk as the last student left the room and held up the card that had been lying facedown on her desk.

There was no name, no flower company logo, just a plain white card with a printed statement on it.

**_Adrian is a lucky man._**

That was all that was on the card and it had spooked Andy. There was nothing overtly threatening but given the lack of logo and no information to track the flowers, Andy knew it was from whoever hired her tail. She couldn’t shake the feeling that whoever had sent it was trying to get under her skin. They were succeeding.

Andy followed her students outside and dropped the card into her pocket. She sat on the picnic bench that she always occupied while the kids played and casually glanced up at McG. Her nerves were frayed, and still, she remembered McG’s advise to prop her knee up. It made her smile to herself a little and she refocused on the students running around playing tag and laughing. She took a breath and forced herself to focus on the students and what their needs were, pushing the rest to the back of her mind.

Jaz and Adam picked her up a couple hours later and she slid into the car and handed the card to Jaz. She leaned her head against the back of the seat and took a deep breath. She felt Adam put the car in drive and pull away from the school. He drove to her apartment and they were silent as they climbed the stairs and entered the apartment.

Andy moved to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee and grabbed a bag of ice for her aching knee. She sat on the couch and waited for one of them to say something. They had been having conversations with DC, but she had closed in on herself to analyze the clues she had to figure out what was going on around her. She knew that she needed to confront Adrian and ask him about this mysterious friend. She was going to have to leave for the mansion eventually. They were going to have to hash out what had happened and putting her foot down about hiring security of her choosing.

“Talk to me Andy,” Adam ordered sitting across from her. She had been silent since they picked her up and, in the years, he had known her, she was never this quiet. It was kind of scaring him.

“I have to go back, hash it out. I’m going to tell him about the roses and tell him that I’ve hired McG as my body guard. He took too long. He won’t like it, but I will tell him that he was on the short list anyway for hiring according to his security company. I’m going to have McG follow me back, so he needs to get prepped and DC needs to get his cover settled. School is not happening the rest of the week, I can’t keep putting those kids in danger. This needs to end and I need to focus on what my actual job is,” she laid out with clarity and focus. Adam looked at her with calm blue eyes and she wondered what he was thinking, but she had been doing this long enough now and she knew how to make it work.

Adam had been worried that she was losing focus and that had been his first mistake. He knew that when she was backed into a corner she became deadly focused and apparently that held in the field too. He glanced up at Jaz and gauged her reaction.

Jaz sat with a cup of coffee listening to Andy lay out her plan. She could see it going wrong in fifty different ways, but it was simple and put her back in control of the situation. It also got them someone in the house with more latitude to explore. It gave them more insight into the security around the house and its surrounding facilities. She looked at Adam and felt his concern for his sister, but also the mission. With a nod of her head, she agreed to the plan.

Andy looked at her brother and felt him agree to her plan before he nodded. She nodded back before leaning her head back to rest for a minute longer. Pulling her phone from her pocket she called the security company that Adrian used, and asked for an email of the candidates that Adrian was considering. He was supposed to interview candidates the next day, but she wasn’t waiting. She set a meeting to interview the candidate of her choice for an hour later and moved to start getting ready.

Andy moved to the bedroom to change into jeans and began the process of shedding the school teacher cover. Jaz came in the room without knocking and sat on the bed observing the change with curiosity. Andy slipped a knife in her boot and slipped a gun into a holster at her back. She then moved to twist her hair at the back of her head and slipped a very sharp looking set of chopsticks into place to hold the knot.

“Man, you don’t mess around when arming yourself,” Jaz observed with a note of respect. Andy stopped moving around and looked at her with a smile.

“When you work alone, you have to be your own army,” Andy stated simply as she slipped another knife up the sleeve of her leather jacket. She then tied another scarf around her neck to hide the bruises that were already beginning to fade from the night before.

“Did you ever think about working with a team?” Jaz questioned watching Andy transform into a different person before her eyes. It was like watching Amir change into a different person whenever they sent him in solo.

“The closest I came to working with a team was working with Amir. It was nice having a partner, but after he was reassigned, I preferred to work alone,” she answered before closing the bag she had been packing.

Jaz nodded and followed her out to the living room where Adam had been on the phone with DC working on McG’s cover. Adam looked up at her and knew he was asking if his sister was okay. She nodded with a smile. His eyes moved to his sister as she moved around the living room and it was like he was seeing her as an agent for the first time. There was a confidence in her step that he hadn’t seen and a determination that she could get the job done. He knew she was good, had observed it since their arrival, but this was the person that reminded him of Jaz when she was in a sniper’s nest. She was focused and lethal.

“Is McG ready for a meeting?” she questioned, and Adam nodded his assurance. She nodded in return and began to clear the apartment of anything personal. He watched as she reached behind the tv and pulled out a packet of files and tossed it out on the coffee table. She moved to the kitchen and reached behind the refrigerator. She pulled out yet another packet and tossed it out on the table. She pulled out a second one and it joined the other two.

Adam moved to stand next to her, watching as she pulled open one of the brown envelopes. Inside were her multiple passports and different currency. Adam flashbacked to clearing out Alex Hoffman’s go bag and had to force himself back to the present. He watched as Andy stuffed a bag with a couple of burner phones, extra weapons, and the third envelope that she hadn’t opened.

“You planning to take off?” he questioned as she zipped the bag closed.

“Makes for a quick get away when Sunday rolls around. I don’t plan on coming back here,” she answered before dropping the bag near the door. “My letter of resignation will be delivered at the school Monday morning. My asset here will sell the car, the apartment will be handled by the agency and I will be back in DC by the time anyone realizes I’ve disappeared.”

“What if this all goes sideways?” Adam questioned looking over at Jaz to see what she was thinking.

“Then it goes sideways, I have plans in place to get out of here, but either way this ends Saturday,” Andy answered looking her brother in the eye. Gone was the scared teenager he knew, the quiet twenty-something, and in their place, an operative willing to make the sacrifice that he had been willing to make since he was eighteen. He felt the big brother in him protest, but the soldier in him respected what she was saying and accepted it.

“We all make it back to the safe house and we leave together,” Adam ordered staring at her before looking over at Jaz and fixing her with the same stare. Jaz nodded in agreement and Andy nodded before her cell phone rang. It was Adrian.

“I have a meeting in half an hour, I will be home after,” she answered in a clipped tone. She wanted to get the hint across that she was irritated and mad, but not saying it. She wrapped up her call and they left the apartment to meet McG at the restaurant near the mansion.


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, thank you for all the lovely feedback.  
> Second: I know we are all very upset by the news that NBC has decided to pass on renewing The Brave (big mistake), but I will continue to finish this story. I had plans for a series of one-shots set in the same universe, but I'm not sure if I will write them or not. It will depend on if there is an itch to continue to write. We'll see.

Chapter 12:

McG sat in the restaurant at the bar, watching the door and took a sip from the club soda. He had received the call from Top and DC sent him his deep cover to be Andy’s body guard through the end of the week. He noted the tone of Top’s voice and knew today had been a turning point for Andy. The roses being sent to the school meant that the students she was trying to protect had been put in the crosshairs and for any of them that was unacceptable.

He was looking at the front door when Jaz and Top walked in and Andy directly behind them. McG watched as most men in the immediate area turned to look at her, including Amir sitting against the wall across the room. McG barely contained his grin as Amir swallowed visibly. Andy made a show of looking around as Top and Jaz got a table midway between Amir and McG. She pretended to spot him and walked towards him with purpose.

He pushed away from the bar and buttoned his suit coat. “Ms. Weber?” he greeted her with a smile. She nodded and took his proffered hand.

“Mr…?”

“Joseph Mackenzie,” he answered and she barely smirked before he motioned towards the bar.

“Mr. Mackenzie, thank you for meeting me on such short notice,” she answered with a smile, climbing on to the barstool and angling to look in the mirror over his shoulder giving her the ability to keep an eye on the door.

“What would you like to drink?” he offered and allowed the niceties of a job interview dictate his movements.

“Club soda with lime,” she answered glancing at the bartender. The bartender immediately went to work and set the drink in front of her.

They continued to put on a show for the team and anyone who might be observing Andy. They conversed easily and after an hour, she paid the tab and stood to shake McG’s hand. “Joseph, how do you feel about starting right now?” she questioned slipping her purse on her shoulder.

“Lead the way,” he answered, and they left the restaurant together. Top and Jaz following close behind and Andy made a show introducing them outside the restaurant before she told Joseph to follow her to the mansion. Top and Jaz went back to the safehouse and Andy drove solo to the mansion with McG following her.

When they pulled up at the mansion, McG met her at the front door and she led him inside. “Adrian,” she called out setting her purse on the table inside the front door. Adrian came ambling out of his office and stopped seeing McG standing in the foyer.

“Who is this?” he demanded looking at Andy and she could feel the fury rolling off him in waves.

“Joseph Mackenzie, one of the men on your short list for my bodyguard. I interviewed him this evening after I received roses at school that were not from you and came with this,” she answered handing him the unsigned card. She watched the color rise on his neck as he read the card and crumpled it in his fist. “I didn’t want to wait. I’m sorry I did it without you, but he was able to meet right after school and I wanted him to start immediately. I brought him here, so you could interview him yourself,” she added as his eyes took in McG’s taller frame. She could tell his fury was being redirected to the Russian tail and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

She watched as McG turned on the charm and Adrian led him back to the office. Adrian looked furious with her, but he was controlling it in front of someone new that he didn’t trust yet. She caught his glance as he shut the office door and she took the opportunity to climb the stairs to the bedroom and proceeded to hide her weapons within easy reach in case things got out of hand that evening. She no longer trusted Adrian to not make things violent and she was not going to allow herself to be compromised.

“McG’s nearly done,” Preach commented in her earpiece. She had almost forgotten that she’d been wearing the thing most of the day as it had been relatively quiet.

“How’s he doing?” she asked as she removed the picks from her hair and allowing it to cascade down her shoulders.

“His usual charming self,” Preach answered and she could feel his grin. She smiled too, as she removed her leather jacket and all the weapons that it had concealed. Once she was barefoot, she headed back down the stairs just as McG and Adrian exited his office.

“What do you think?” she questioned approaching Adrian’s side and slipping her arm around his waist.

“You chose well my love,” he answered with a hint of pride. “Joseph, can you start tonight? Andrea has been most anxious with the man following her to the school.”

“Sure,” McG answered with a smile.

“Excellent, I will give you a tour,” Adrian ordered and they all began moving around the house. He kept a possessive arm around Andy’s shoulder and McG caught her limping more as the evening wore on.

An hour later, Andy was smiling up at McG as she handed him a bottle of water. “I decided not to go to school tomorrow. I already had taken vacation for Friday. I am going to run some errands and pick up my dress. I have a fitting at four and then I am hosting some of Adrian's family that are coming to town,” she laid out for him.

“Got it. Anything else I should know?” he asked as she moved around putting together a sandwich for each of them.

“I get up at five usually for a run, but I’ve been nursing a sore knee. It is feeling well enough I’m going to test it out. The man that was following me, I saw him on my usual trail the other day, so I would prefer not to go alone.” McG frowned at her about the knee, but he knew it was a show for Adrian that had just walked back in the room behind him.

“Fair enough, we should switch up your usual routes to throw off the man following you. Puts him at a disadvantage,” McG offered laying out a plan that made sense and had Adrian nodding. Andy gave him a warm smile and nodded her head.

“Sounds like a plan. Adrian, I’m going to be out running errands tomorrow, is there anything you need me to pick up?” she offered, and he poked his head out of the pantry with a bag of chips. She immediately knew that he was high.

“More chips,” he mumbled as he walked away with the bag. McG raised an eyebrow at her and she frowned.

“He is high as a fucking kite,” she answered allowing her frustration to show. He was unpredictable when he was high, and she could not afford any changes to the routine. “I need to find his drug stash before this weekend,” she added looking over at McG.

“You should get some sleep,” he whispered softly. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days and he could see the tension in her shoulders when she wasn’t hiding it.

“I can’t just yet. He needs to pass out first. You can go though. That way you can get back in time,” she replied turning to the stove and picking up the tea kettle. She decided that she would have a cup of tea and then head to bed.

McG watched her move about the kitchen and realized why she was stalling. The abuse started when Dimakos started using drugs more frequently. She was letting him off the hook, but he couldn’t leave her there knowing that information. He was torn about leaving, but ultimately, he knew for the mission, he needed to go. She was tough as Jaz and Jaz would kick his ass for doubting Top’s sister. He couldn’t help having a soft spot for her though having seen her at her worst bleeding to death in the middle of a field.

He watched her drop a tea bag in a cup and pull honey out of a cupboard. She was moving around easier than that morning when he had watched her limp to the car. She also seemed to be studiously ignoring him. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning, we aren’t running far,” he stated as the tea kettle began to whistle. Andy leveled a gaze at him as she poured hot water over the tea bag.

“Are you handling me?” she whispered barely moving her lips.

“Having been the medic to treat you, yes. You need to be as healed as possible to finish this,” he answered softly. She met his eye and nodded before moving around the counter to sit on the barstool beside him.

“I’m used to taking care of myself,” she assured him as she sipped her tea. She glanced at her watch and noted that it was nearly midnight. She was running out of energy and she was sure that McG was too.

“Yes, but as a team we take care of each other,” he responded giving her a pointed look. She met his gaze and nodded silently accepting the handling. He released a breath and sent silent thanks that she wouldn’t argue with him as much as her brother did when he was hurt.

Ten minutes later, she finished her tea and set the cup in the sink. She turned to see McG’s studying her again. It was a little unnerving, but she let it go because even though they knew who she was, working with her was still a new element. “I’m kicking you out. I’ll see you at 0500,” she stated quietly.

McG allowed her to escort him and he said goodnight heading to his ride. He surveyed around him before climbing in and driving away. He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw Andy standing in an upstairs window staring out.

When McG entered the safe house, he was greeted by Top and Amir sitting at the table. There were no words, just a nod that told them both that she was okay. He wanted to tease Amir about it but couldn’t bring himself to do it. The man looked like Top when Jaz had been captured in Tehran.

“I’ve got to be back in the morning,” he stated leaning against the wall. They went over the plan for another ten minutes before Top told him to hit the rack.

Amir and Top sat in silence, watching the monitors and reviewing the plans to the underground tunnels that they were supposed to be infiltrating in two days. “I didn’t want to shoot her,” Amir stated when the silence got to be too much.

He had been itching to say his peace to Top about Germany for days, but they hadn’t been alone long enough to say anything. Amir never thought he would be sitting face to face with Andy’s brother when he shot her all those years ago. He also didn’t expect to be running an op with her again. He never thought he would have to explain his actions to anyone but his superiors. In a way, that was still the case.

Adam studied the man that he had chosen to be on his team, to have their backs and that his sister had vouched for when asked. Amir had what Adam referred to as his spy face on, and Adam just shook his head wondering how his sister had learned to read him. “If she says it was to protect the mission and that’s your version, then we don’t have a problem,” Adam challenged.

“The men that recruited me for that first cell were the ones I was protecting her from,” Amir explained. Adam didn’t need more details to know it was the ISIS cell that he had managed to infiltrate. “I didn’t know she had lived until three years later during my debrief after they pulled me out,” he added, and Adam could hear the mixed emotions the other man felt.

_Amir set foot on American soil for the first time in three years and felt himself barely able to breathe. He was on his way to Langley to debrief and hand in his resignation. Three years and one too many suicide bombers later, he had seen enough. He wanted to go to his uncle's farm and hide from the world for a while before returning to his parents' home. That was his plan._

_He set foot in CIA Headquarters and was greeted by the director's admin. He was ushered to a secure conference room where various heads of the alphabet agencies. He repeated verbally the last days being in Germany, including the shooting of Andy. He detailed how he had lined up the shot, how Andy had pled with him, but they had already discussed in the days before that they would do whatever needed to be done._

_“Did Agent Turner survive?” one of the directors from the FBI questioned._

_Amir looked to the other members of the CIA for answers but was surprised when Deputy Director Campbell from the DIA answered, “Yes, Special Operations group 7 rescued Agent Turner less than three hours later and she recovered and returned to duty.” Patricia watched as Amir’s face registered surprise, then anger, and finally relief. “You didn't know she had made it?” She questioned looking at his superiors._

_“I believed I had succeeded in proving my loyalty,” Amir answered looking to his superiors with barely veiled hostility._

Adam studied Amir longer and the thought that had been plaguing him surfaced. “How long have you been in love with her?” He hadn’t meant to ask the question but the brother in him wanted to know. He had missed so much of Andy’s life already. In terms of the mission, he needed to know what to anticipate with regards to Amir’s reactions when everything stepped off on Saturday. He had to protect the team and his sister, and it was a balancing act that he couldn’t lose.

“On the Farm,” Amir confessed quietly. “She was the first person I ever told about my sister,” he added as he studied Top’s reaction.

Adam suspected it had been that serious, but not the length of time, and it made him question Andy’s response when he had asked her if she could keep her head working with Amir. “I need to know if you can keep a clear head,” he demanded knowing that Amir would be honest with him.

“Top, we will get the job done,” Amir answered knowing that no matter what happened between him and Andy, they would get the job done. “When we were together, the mission always came first, too much was dependent on us to allow our emotions to cloud our judgement,” he added and watched Adam nod in response.

Adam didn’t know what else to say to Amir at that point. He had more questions but wanted the answers from his sister. “Go get some rack time,” he ordered before turning back to the monitors that showed empty rooms.


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole show being cancelled still bums me out, but I'm trying to finish this as I'm so close. One of the upcoming chapters has me stuck, so maybe you all can help with that? Thank you for kind words.

Chapter 13:

Andy stepped down the stairs dressed for her run when the front door opened, and McG walked in ready to join her. "Good morning," she said quietly. She wasn't quite awake yet but led him through the back door and down to the path she always used.

They started out slow to allow her knee to warm up, and when McG felt like she was warm enough, he took her off the path following his idea of switching up her routine. The new path took them down near the water's edge. The sandy beach forced her to slow her run, but she knew that part of that was part of McG's plan to keep her from hurting herself.

"You are such a worrywart," she huffed as they paused to stretch.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded laughing.

"I know you chose the beach because I would be forced to go slower," she stated putting her hands on her hips. He tossed her a water bottle and she caught it with ease.

"That and to show you the alternate entrance that we think Adrian doesn't know about to his underground compound," he added pointing a little further down the beach along the cliffs. It looked difficult to climb to and that if the tide were in, it would be impossible to get to the entrance. It also looked tiny.

Andy proceeded to walk towards the entrance he had pointed out. "When did you find it?" she demanded studying the surrounding area.

"Amir found it while you were at school yesterday," he answered watching her face go from curious to calculating.

"Did anyone go in to see how far it would go?" He felt her excitement at finding a way to get the girls out without Adrian noticing right away.

"Jaz went in last night. She could get to the hall with the cells, but then the cameras could pick her up, but we were able to tap into the feed and we should be able to manipulate it during the party to show a continuous loop. We will get them out and be gone before Adrian or anyone else notices. The Greek authorities will be looped in by command the night before the party so that they can organize the raid to take down the other players and bust the ring." Andy looked at him with the same clear blue eyes that Top did whenever they were discussing plans to enter a hostile area and it was slightly unnerving.

"How are we getting the girls off the beach without people from the party noticing?" she questioned pointing to where you could just barely see the edge of the pool area. It was far enough away and would be concealed by darkness, but a boat would require lights, and a car would be too conspicuous.

"We'll need you to make sure everyone is inside about an hour after the party starts. Amir will be stationed in the pool area to make sure that no one sees something they shouldn't," he answered taking note of how she was now moving away from the cave entrance, but not without a hint of longing.

"Alright." She turned her back to the cave entrance and he watched her slip back on the mask of school teacher.

They went about the rest of the day as planned and it wasn't until they made it to the dress shop to pick up her dress for the party that she spotted her tail for the first time that day. Andy slipped into the dressing room as McG stood near the entrance having caught her signal and already noted the tail.

"Hey Top, thinking it might be time to introduce ourselves to Mr. Petrov. He's definitely closer than normal," McG quietly conveyed while Andy was trying on her dress.

Top and Jaz were once again down the street, having tailed his sister and McG all morning. The appointment at the dress shop was the only pre-determined time that Andy was supposed to be all afternoon, and that told them that Petrov had done his research. It made Top anxious, especially in such a crowded area without knowing all the players.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Top answered glancing over at Jaz and watched her nod. "Alright Amir, Preach, I want you to pick up our friend," he ordered knowing they were only a block away at the coffee shop on the corner.

McG turned back to look over at Andy to let her know it was time to go. He stopped short when he saw her standing in front of the mirror with her back to him. The dress was backless with long sleeves made of dark navy-blue lace and she caught him looking in the mirror and smirked at him before the older woman that was helping her turned around. She spoke to the woman in Greek and headed back to the changing room. She was back minutes later with the dress in a garment bag. She was fully covered, and he could tell she was trying hard not to laugh.

"Joseph, you act like you've never seen a woman's back before," she teased hanging the dress on the hook in the back of the SUV.

"Now you know that isn't true," he laughed, and she smiled up at him. "Our friend has been picked up," he added as they climbed into the SUV and he pulled away from the curb.

"I think it best we head to the market, I need to get back to entertain Adrian's family. What does Adam say?" she questioned as he maneuvered towards the market she'd directed him towards.

"To keep you away, just in case the Russians catch on that their guy was picked up and send another tail. So, have you met Adrian's family before tonight?" he questioned pulling into a parking space.

"No, and from what I have read, they are just as ruthless as he is in business," she answered quietly as she pulled out a shopping cart.

An hour later and a full meal's worth of groceries, McG drove Andy back to the mansion and unloaded the car. McG checked in with the men that guarded the house in general and Marcus. Marcus was a good man and while McG trusted that instinct, he was still working for a man like Adrian. They had run his background and he had a solid military record with the British Armed Forces and had been honorably discharged. Then he had disappeared for several months before showing up on Adrian's security detail. The other guards he got the impression were in it for the money.

Andy moved around the kitchen chopping vegetables and prepping a salad. She felt like she should be nervous meeting the family of the man she was pretending to be in love with, but she couldn't muster the energy to care anymore. They had raised the man that used drugs, kidnapped girls and sold them into the sex trade. The rage boiling in her gut kept her focused, she would use her training to make sure the family paid for the man they raised.

Three hours later, Adrian was home, and his family would arrive at any moment. She caught McG's eye as she opened the front door to greet the future in-laws. He looked angry already and the evening was just beginning. Marcus didn't look pleased either. The team had been silent in her ear since she'd put her earwig back in after her shower. She should have taken that as a sign that things were going to get ugly.

"Father, meet my beautiful bride-to-be, Andrea," Adrian introduced her to the man with white blond hair and cruel mouth that was dressed in an expensive looking tan suit. "Andrea, my father, Maximillian."

"Mr. Dimakos," she greeted with a smile. His father assessed her with an eye that reminded her of a panther stocking his prey. He took her hand a pressed a kiss to her knuckles. His lips lingering far longer than necessary. She fought the urge to pull her hand away and rub it against her leg.

He finally released her hand when his wife cleared her throat and stepped up to greet her. "Mother, this is Andrea; Andrea, my mother Ivana," Adrian stated putting a hand on Andy's lower back. Andy smiled warmly at his mother with her shrewd assessing eyes and knew that this woman held more secrets than her husband. She kissed Andy on either cheek, but ice was warmer than this woman.

They stepped inside and the carefully prepared menu that Andy took weeks to figure out suddenly felt inadequate and it would, no matter how established a cook, and suddenly she was grateful that this woman was not really going to become her mother-in-law. She felt McG's gaze on her back and as she took his mother's wrap to hang in the closet, she gave him a look that she hoped conveyed that the situation was more dangerous now. His nod gave her the reassurance that this was going to be a long night of chess.

They made small talk in the kitchen as Andy prepared the last bits of the meal and poured wine for his parents. Adrian looked like a peacock showing off his feathers for his father and his mother was clearly was not impressed. They moved to the dining room for dinner and Andy prayed the evening would end soon. The conversation was entirely in Greek and even with her fluidity in the language, she suspected they were alternating between a standard dialect and something else because she would occasionally lose the thread of conversation.

She excused herself to go retrieve the dessert she had picked up at Adrian's favorite bakery. It was a traditional baclava and smelled delicious as she gathered dessert plates and extra forks. Rosalee came in with the empty dinner plates and gave her an encouraging smile. She smiled back, but she felt as though this woman was hiding something new. Rosalee left the room quickly taking another bottle of wine with her and leaving Andy a moment to breathe.

McG was doing a pass through the backyard when he glanced into the kitchen to see Andy standing at the counter cutting up the dessert they'd bought earlier in the day. She looked tense and glanced up to smile at him. He frowned when Adrian's father came into the kitchen and moved to stand over her shoulder. She gripped the knife and he could see her talking quickly as Maximillian whispered in her ear. Maximillian moved to try and trap her, and she quickly moved aside. McG made a move to head inside and Andy glanced up at his movement. She gave a subtle shake of her head and he paused.

"McG, talk to me," Top demanded from the safe house.

"Looks like Daddy Dimakos is as big a dirt bag as his son. Andy's got it covered though." He watched her shove the plates into her future father-in-law's hands and point him in the direction of the dining room. She followed behind with the serving dish. McG moved to the front of the house in order to look through the dining room window and keep an eye on things.

They could hear the conversation on comms from Andy's end, but with most of the conversation in Greek, they were relying on DC to translate. So far it was mostly just normal conversation about the wedding and setting a date. The delay was making Amir anxious as he sat with Jaz monitoring the cameras and McG's body cam. He hated that they weren't any closer, but there hadn't been justification for setting up shop down the street.

"Andy, why don't you go up and get the brochures for the ceremony sites," Adrian suggested as the discussion of location came up and his mother insisted on giving her opinion. "I'll go make coffee," he added, and she smiled at him before nodding and excusing herself from the table.

Andy climbed the stairs and entered her office, pulling open the filing drawer to the left of computer to look for the file Adrian mentioned. She pulled the file out and glanced up at the camera she knew was sitting on her bookshelf disguised as a Statue of Liberty and gave the team a reassuring smile. She was just walking around her desk, when Maximillian appeared in the doorway. He had that predatory look again and now he was fueled by alcohol.

"I haven't been in here since you made it your own," he commented walking around and looking at the knick-knacks on the shelves. He unknowingly picked up the statue and Andy immediately felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She slid her hand across the desk while his back was to her and gripped the letter opener that Adrian had given her as gift.

"Well, I've got those brochures, let's go show the others," she announced moving to the opposite side of the desk. In an instant, he was in front of her blocking her path and crowding her until she was backed up against the wall. She could smell the wine on his breath and the smell of his aftershave as he leaned in closer. The combination made her want to gag, but she swallowed down the feeling and straightened her spine.

"You smell like summer by the ocean," he whispered sniffing a lock of her hair he had picked up between his fingers.

"We should really get downstairs," she insisted trying to move away from him. He caged her with his arms and she glared up at him defiantly. "Would you please kindly let me pass?" she requested looking into his bloodshot blue eyes.

"Did my son tell you about the last woman he nearly married?" he questioned, not moving.

"No." She had wondered and from Maximillian's tone, it sounded worse than her initial guess.

"She was just as spirited as you, not nearly so pretty though. She wasn't strong enough though. You see my son takes after his father and has a very healthy appetite for the fairer sex. You seem like you could keep him happy, but you see, I have to approve any woman my son marries. She has to have the stamina to keep up with the demands," he explained as he moved his hand from her hair to trail it along her breastbone, and that was enough for Andy. She brought the point of the letter opener to the fly of his pants and pressed hard enough for him to pause in his movements.

"Has he told you about me though? My big brother taught me how to defend myself and if you do not back up and remove your hands from my personal space, I will cut off your ability to please your wife and stuff it down your throat. If you doubt me, try me. Now get your fucking hands off," she ordered pressing harder and watched as he lifted his hands in surrender while backing away. As he moved away, she reached to the gun holstered on the underside of her desk and aimed it at his chest with a steady hand. It was the only one that Adrian knew about and she had explained that Adam had taught her to shoot to protect herself. Given the fact that they already had armed bodyguards at the house, he had allowed it. At the sight of the weapon that was more lethal at a distance, Maximillian finally left the office and headed back down the stairs.

Andy slipped the gun back in place and dropped the letter opener on the desktop. She took a deep steadying breath, straightened her blouse, and made her way down the front stairway just as McG came through the front door looking calm but knowing that he had been ordered to stop Adrian's father by her brother. She nodded to let him know she was okay, but the look of concern still didn't leave his eyes.

When she re-entered the dining room a moment later, it sounded like Adrian's mother was ready to leave. Andy almost breathed a sigh of relief until she heard Adrian trying to convince them to stay with the couple. "No son, we will leave you two love birds on your own," his father answered giving her a look that almost looked like respect if it were not for the lust mixed with it.

They walked the couple out and when they pulled out of the driveway, Andy and Adrian waving from the stairs, Andy finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I think your mother hates me," she stated as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and they went inside.

"My mother is a tough woman, but your efforts tonight did not go unnoticed. My father says you have spunk," he answered, and her gut twisted at his father's assessment. She'd fended him off tonight because she had caught him by surprise, but she had a feeling that he was like his son and didn't take no for an answer.

"Well, I hope I made a good impression for you. I want them to like me," she stated turning to look up at him. The effort to keep up appearance of the loving fiancée was getting old and she was ready to take a break.

"They will learn to love you just like I do," he declared before dipping his head to kiss her. She allowed it, but quickly pulled away.

"I think I'm going to go for a run, all that baclava is not good for my figure to fit in that dress for Saturday. I'll meet you in the bedroom later?" she offered when she saw his pouting face. He nodded, and she went upstairs to put on workout gear.

When Andy went out the front door, McG was waiting for her in his own running gear. The sun was already set and in unspoken communication, they set off towards the park down the road. Her pace was neither relaxed or slow. She was nearly sprinting, and McG was surprised by the speed when she really let loose. He knew that she should really slow down so she wouldn't aggravate her knee, but he recognized the need to let out the pent-up emotion.

When they entered the park, she finally stopped and braced her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. After a minute of huffing and puffing, she stood up and gave him a smile. "Sorry," she offered handing him her bottle of water. He grinned at her and took a healthy gulp.

"Are you alright?" he questioned softly. She glared at him.

"Not the first time and won't be the last." McG frowned at this comment. "Look, it's a hazard of the job. Ask Jaz and she will tell you the same thing. We are trained to deal with it." She wanted to move past the incident in her office but knew her brother would not be so quick to forget; neither, apparently, was his team.

Adam stood in the darkened room staring at the man that had been tailing his sister for the last couple weeks and frowned at the words coming out of his mouth. Adrian's friend had been the one to hire him. The reasons why were what bothered him. Dimitri had spent the afternoon telling him the story of Adrian's first fiancée. He stepped out of the room and motioned to Amir as Jaz took over monitoring the camera feeds from the mansion.

"Go get them," he ordered, and Amir nodded before leaving. He stood in the hallway calming his emotions and coming up with his next move. His sister tended to get herself in worse situations than he wanted to know, and it was hard not to want to pull the plug on the entire operation. After their last deployment and the near misses, he wasn't quite ready to have his sister be the next victim of bad luck.

"Top!" Jaz called, and Adam quickly headed to the kitchen. She was looking at the monitor for Andy's study and had the volume up loud enough to hear. Adam stood behind Jaz and gripped the back of her chair as they watched the entire exchange and it served to confirm their hostage's story. He called McG and told him to get inside the house.

Jaz watched intently as the scene played out and held her breath along with the team in DC. Jaz knew the minute Adrian's father felt the letter opener and inwardly cheered the other woman. When she pulled the gun and held it level, she felt pride in her too. She heard Patricia's barely audible, "Atta girl."

"Adam, switch to private," Patricia stated, and Jaz watched as Top changed channels and walked towards the upstairs. Her eyes went back to the screen and watched as Andy re-holstered the gun and leave the room.

"Adam, the story is confirmed, Adrian's ex-fiancée tried to report it, but no one believed her. Adrian's father paid off the police to bury the evidence and she later committed suicide. I have a meeting with the Greek ambassador in the morning and we will end this," she reported to him and Adam found himself nodding even though she couldn't see him.

"Is there someone in Greek intelligence that we can trust? The last time we tried to work with them, we were nearly blown to hell," Adam questioned.

"I'll get back to you," she answered. Patricia looked at her team around her and could tell that this extended mission was wearing on all of them. She hoped the next day brought a measure of relief before the final showdown on Saturday.

"Switching," he announced before switching back to the team channel. "Amir, ETA on pick up?"

"Two minutes out," he responded in a clipped tone.

"McG, Andy, we'll pick you up in the park, two minutes," Adam announced and looked to Jaz as he stepped back into the dining area. She looked calm and it was exactly what he had needed to see in that moment.

"Copy," Andy announced sounding winded from their run to the park.

Amir had not witnessed the visuals of the incident at the house, but he'd heard it. He pulled into the park and spotted Andy and McG leaning against a park bench, he'd parked and climbed from the car without thinking. He stalked towards Andy and pulled her to him without giving her a chance to react. His arms went around her, and he felt the moment she held him back. Her arms slipped around his waist and squeezed tight.

"I'm fine," she whispered in his ear. He pulled back and cupped her face in his warm slightly callused hands. He searched her eyes for the truth he knew he would find and nodded before kissing her. Again, he had taken her by surprise.

McG stood by awkwardly as he watched Amir kiss Andy. It was the first time he had ever seen him kiss anyone and it made him smile, but it was also Top's sister. "Guys, we need to get out of here," McG announced clearing his throat. Amir pulled back and looked startled at his unusual display of affection and Andy looked just as surprised as he released her and stepped away. McG watched as Amir retreated to the car without a backwards glance and he motioned for Andy to go ahead.

Andy climbed into the back with McG and Amir up front. She kept her eyes focused ahead and tried to push down the storm of emotions that Amir had triggered when he'd kissed her. The kiss the other night had been about missing someone she'd thought she would never see again, but tonight had been about Amir reassuring himself that she was okay. This kiss had driven most of the last niggling vestiges of Maximillian's smell from her brain and she was grateful for it. She was also a little angry with him. She was a professional that could handle herself, she did not need to be coddled when a situation got tough.

Amir's emotions were a storm that he was trying to reign in on the drive back to the safehouse and glancing in the mirror, he could tell Andy was frustrated with him. He wasn't coddling her, even though she would think he was, and he could handle that. It was the sheer terror he had felt listening helplessly to her handling the situation. He had felt horror when Jaz had been taken, but he wasn't in love with Jaz. He had also been terrified of never finding out if after all this time, she still loved him in return.


	15. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Apologies for the length between updates. I'm wrapping up writing the story. This morning drinking my coffee in the backyard, the mental block I had to finish the story finally fell away. Woohoo! So updates will be more forthcoming in the next few days.

Chapter 14:

Andy sat across from Dimitri, still as stone, as he spilled his tale and what he knew of the man that hired him. He was a gun for hire and he had failed at his job because he'd been caught. Now they were trying to determine whether to turn him over to the authorities. Andy was all for handing him over to the Greek authorities and being done with him, but she also was smart enough to know that he would escape custody in no time.

"What were your plans for me?" she questioned calmly.

"He wanted to kidnap you at the party and from there it was up to him. My only job was to make sure that he could get to you. I missed check-in this afternoon, and he will send in a second man. You should know he had every intention of killing you but thought that was too kind to Adrian." For a gun for hire, he was talking a lot more than she was expecting and that in turn made her suspicious.

"Why are you being so forthcoming?" she inquired leaning forward across the table.

"That man you are going to marry is a pig of the worst kind and he deserves what he gets," Dimitri responded.

Andy studied the man before her, and the responses to her questions. "Who was she?"

Dimitri looked up at her with cold brown eyes and she felt the rage that was just barely concealed below the surface. "My wife." Andy nodded in understanding and decided she'd gotten enough out of the man.

"Thank you for your time Dimitri. Unfortunately, I cannot let you go though. You see, your temporary boss wants me dead and frankly, if I were in his position, I can't say I wouldn't want the same. You will be turned over to the authorities and you will give us all the information on the Dimakos that you have. In the meantime, I will need the number you used to contact Peter," she stated as Jaz handed her a piece of paper and a pen.

Dimitri rattled off the number and Jaz quickly swiped the pen off the table. He glared up at her as Patricia relayed instructions to the team with regards to the removal of Mr. Petrov. Preach covered his head with a black hood and noise-cancelling headphones. Preach and McG escorted him out of the room and left the safe house.

Andy sat in the dark room facing the door and staring straight ahead thinking about the information she had been handed. The interrogation and the incident earlier in the evening had left her drained and tired making it hard to focus and evaluate. She was going to need a long vacation filled with nothing more than a beach and ocean waves. The thought of being alone on the beach though had her glancing towards Amir who was in a deep conversation with Adam in the corner. Jaz was standing silently between them and occasionally glanced her way.

Taking a deep breath, she stood and walked out of the room, heading towards the kitchen. She knew Jaz would follow her. Andy was grateful to have the other women helping with this mission that could understand that just because she had been put in a compromising position and gotten out of it, didn't mean she was going to fall apart.

"You were right," Jaz stated reaching for a coffee mug and the pot of freshly brewed coffee sitting on the counter. Andy turned and raised an eyebrow in question. "Hazard of the job, it's happened, and it bothers them every time," she explained, and Andy chuckled a little before nodding in understanding.

"Thanks, I know it's just because they are good men and they care," Andy answered reaching in the fridge for a bottle of water. "I'm glad you're here," she added before walking back to the room to talk with Amir and Adam.

Jaz stood staring after Top's sister and felt herself smiling when McG and Preach returned. They both looked relieved and tired. "We good?" she asked as they approached.

"Yeah, but I need to get Andy back. We've been gone for nearly two hours and Adrian's team will notice," McG stated grabbing a water out of the fridge.

"Let's go," Andy announced from the doorway into the kitchen. Amir and Top stood behind her both looking like they had just hashed it out with her and lost.

Jaz noticed the glance between McG and Amir and wondered what it was about but would have to ask Amir about it later. It was unlikely that he would tell her, but since Paris, they had grown more comfortable talking to each other. Clearly, he and Andy shared a history and McG knew something. Question was what he knew and why hadn't he shared.

Amir drove them back to the park where he had picked them up and glanced in the rearview mirror at Andy as she slipped out of the back seat. He watched her, and McG set off back towards the house, and hated having to leave but knew that he needed to get back to the safehouse and get sleep.

Adam sat at the kitchen table watching the monitors as Andy arrived back and silently breathed a sigh of relief when she reported that Adrian was asleep. He looked up as Jaz came back in the kitchen and started pulling items out of the fridge. He went back to cycling through the monitors and noticed that Andy had set up her button cam to focus on the bed in the master bedroom, so they could keep an eye on her.

He was so focused on the screens that he jumped when Jaz set a cup of coffee and a sandwich in front of him. She pulled up the chair next to him and settle beside him to watch the monitors as well. She ate her sandwich in silence and gave him a pointed look when he didn't immediately start eating.

"It's a sandwich and didn't require me to cook anything," she reassured him, and he gave her that smile that was so rare it always made her heart stutter. It was the rare unrestrained smile of a person enjoying the moment and made his eyes crinkle in the corners. She smiled in return and took a sip of coffee when he finally took a bite of the sandwich and nodded his head in approval.

She sat beside him for hours as they simply watched Andy and Adrian sleep as well as the rest of the household. McG had returned at some point and gone straight to bed after checking in. At around two a.m., she cleared their plates and put on a fresh pot of coffee. Top needed to get some sleep, but she could tell he was fighting it. She shook her head and finally snatched the headphones off his head. He turned to glare at her, but the look she gave him gave no room for argument.

"You have to take care of yourself," she stated simply as she set the headphones down and stepped back as he stood up. "Andy needs us to all be in top form when this all goes down," she added looking up at him with a pointed look.

Adam looked at her and felt the nearly irresistible urge to kiss the smart look off her mouth, but instead took a step back and held up his hands. "You win," he announced backing around the table. She nearly laughed when he nearly bumped into Amir coming down for his shift.

"Goodnight," she called after him before settling in his now vacant seat.

When he was gone, the smile she had held disappeared and she fixed her eyes on Amir. "Want to tell me what the hell you were doing kissing her?" she demanded when he moved to get a cup of coffee. Her guess proved accurate when his motions stilled, and he turned slowly to look at her. "Top is going to kill you," she declared.

"How did you know? Did McGuire say something?" he demanded in return.

"What does McGuire know?" she countered without answering the question. She was definitely cornering him the moment they got back to base.

"Nothing," Amir answered before sitting down. Preach entered the room at that moment and shuffled over to pour his own cup of coffee.

"He fell in love with her at the farm and clearly is still in love with her," Preach stated quietly from the coffee pot.

"How the hell did you come to that conclusion?" Amir demanded spilling coffee as he slapped his coffee mug down.

"By your reaction just now," Preach answered turning give him a knowing look.

"Damn it," Amir muttered under his breath. Preach handed him a piece of paper towel to wipe up the spilled coffee. Preach was thrilled that Andy had found someone to look at like he looked at his wife. Too bad she was just like her brother and too stubborn to admit it.

The three of them sat around the monitors, Preach checking the camera system in the underground tunnels and timing the guards' rotations. He marked each time the walked past, the length of time between, when they switched, and when the girls that they could see in the cages were fed and let out to what they assumed were the showers.

It was around five in the morning when Preach caught a new person on camera. "Looks like mommy dearest is definitely not innocent," Preach announced as Jaz and Amir moved to look over his shoulder.

"Can you get any audio?" Jaz questioned as Amir went to get Top and McGuire was coming down the stairs.

"No," Preach answered before clicking keys to change the angle of the camera so they could see the iPad she was holding in her hands. It looked like she was discussing with the guard a schedule and each of the girls individually. They watched as she scrolled through all fifteen girls they knew were being held. Beneath each picture as she talked were pictures of at least three men.

"Potential buyers," Jaz stated looking at the currency amount below each of the names. "They are bidding on them," she spit out disgusted.

"Have command run facial rec and get them over to our guys so they are ready on Saturday night. Get the info to Andy and make sure she keeps an eye out. I do not want her trying to track these guys alone. Especially not with mommy dearest involved," Top ordered standing behind Jaz looking over her shoulder. He glanced up at McG as he issued the order and McG nodded before leaving to head over to the mansion.

Adam was worried. He had only just fallen asleep when Amir was shaking him awake, and when he first saw Amir, he'd thought the worst. Amir must have noticed, because he simply stated they had a lead. Amir had taken Preach and the two of them had gone to follow mommy dearest and find out who she was meeting. He sat on the couch in the living area and took a deep breath.

Jaz moved to sit across from him and looked at the man that was her CO and her friend. It was rare that she saw the worry. She saw it now. The closer that they were getting to the end of this, the more it was showing. He hid it well, but after three, nearly four years, of being on his team and being far more aware of him than she would admit, she knew he was worried.

She wanted to assure him that they would all get out of this in one piece, but in reality, she knew she could never make that promise. They had all seen too much, lived through too much, and heard too much. Still, she wanted to give him some form of peace.

"She never asks for anything. In 13 years, she has never asked for anything except to get to know her family. Now, she's in so deep, I don't know that we will get her out," he confessed quietly. He opened his eyes and looked at the woman across from him. Her silent support was all he needed, but he wanted more.

"Top, she's your sister. She would never have let you pull her out before she saw this done. She's too much like you," she replied with a shrug. He smirked and huffed a laugh.

"Are you calling me stubborn?" he questioned with a smile.

"If the shoe fits," Jaz answered with a smile. "Now, go back to bed. I'll hold down the fort," she insisted hitting his knee and moving towards the bank of monitors. She sat and put the headphones on and focused on the job at hand.

Adam stood and turned to head upstairs, he looked back at Jaz steadily focused on the job at hand. He was grateful for her being there and letting him ramble. He was also grateful that his team had his back. He climbed the stairs and laid down until his alarm went off a few hours later.


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is my therapy and some days you need more therapy than others. What is your therapy?

Chapter 15:

Jaz watched the monitors and noted anything out of the ordinary. McG showed up at the house ready for Andy's usual morning run but found that she was still in bed and sound asleep. Adrian was up, had gone for a run, and headed out with his team. Andy had tagged a few of his shirts with trackers and she was able to bring them up on the monitors. She tracked him to a bistro near his parents' hotel. Preach and Amir picked up the three of them during a late breakfast.

Andy finally seemed to stir and made her way downstairs, heading straight for the coffee. She stood in the kitchen staring out over the pool area and the blue waters below and soaked in the last peaceful moments of the morning. She heard the front door open and saw McG approach her from behind in the reflection on the glass.

"No run this morning?" he questioned as he came to stand beside her. She glanced over at him and shook her head.

"I have a few errands I need your help with," she answered moving back to coffee maker for another cup. She pulled out a mug and poured him a cup as well. He nodded, and they stood there a moment longer.

"We found out more about Adrian's parents," he offered quietly.

"I know. I kept my earwig in overnight." He looked over at her in surprise. "I couldn't sleep. His mother creeped me out more than anyone I have ever met," she explained. They stood in silence through one more cup of coffee and then Andy decided to go take a quick shower.

Adam entered the kitchen around the time that Andy had gone to take her shower and he shuffled over to coffee maker before turning to look down at Jaz. She was barely awake, but she was still taking notes and only glanced up at him briefly. He picked up her mug and emptied the cold contents down the drain before making her a fresh cup. He set it in front of her and she gave him a brief smile.

"Have you eaten?" he questioned as she took a sip of coffee and stifled a yawn. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes.

Jaz looked over at her CO and finally noticed that his hair was sticking up all over the place started laughing. It was the manic laugh of someone who was over tired and not really all that funny, but Top looking at her like she had lost her mind sent her over the edge.

"What the hell is so funny?" he demanded, and she pointed to his head. "That? Really? Go rack out, you have lost your mind," he teased with a grin. She nodded, and he could hear her chuckling all the way up the stairs.

He went to take a quick shower while Andy and McG went about their day and he kept an eye on the compound of Adrian's home. He and his parents were out running errands as well and it was the quietest day he had had in a long time. It was also boring. Preach and Amir were still tailing Adrian and his parents when the front door to the safe house opened and Andy walked in with McG.

"What are you two doing here?" he questioned as they entered the kitchen. His sister looked tired and twitchy. Never a good sign, but he wrote it off to knowing tomorrow was go day.

"Bringing you and Jaz some clothes for tomorrow. The party is black tie," Andy explained pointing to the garment bags that McGuire was holding. She also held a couple boxes in her hands.

"What's all that?" he questioned pointing to the pile in her arms. There were clearly shoe boxes, but also a couple boxes tied with ribbon.

"Shoes and presents for Jaz," she answered again with a shrug. She watched the brief change in her brother's face and had to fight the grin she felt seeing the slight softening in his eyes.

"She's racking out. I'll make sure she gets it. She had the night shift last night." He stood and moved to help take some of the boxes while McG went to hang up the garment bags in the closet.

"Are we all set for tomorrow?" Andy questioned looking up at her brother and searching for an honest answer.

It was the first time that Adam felt like she was questioning him and his team, but then he realized it wasn't them she was doubting. "Those girls will be out and safe before you even walk down the stairs and Adrian and his parents will be in custody before the end of the night." He had given her the reassurance she needed, and she nodded her head. He wasn't satisfied with her response though.

Hours later, Andy sat on the beach with McGuire standing nearby. She had needed this day of quiet, but she knew it was simply the calm before the storm. She glanced towards the cave entrance that she couldn't see but knew was there. Those girls were why she kept doing what she did but working with her brother and his team had changed her mind about having a team. The way they all seamlessly worked together, even adapting to include her in the mix had left her feeling envious of her brother for what he had with them. They were their own family.

McG had kept her within eyesight, but knew she needed distance for a little while. He thought about the differences between Top and his sister. Top was quiet and observed everything and gave off the lone wolf vibe, Andy drew people to her and was almost always surrounded by people observing up close. She was the loneliest person he knew though, and he wondered if it was from years of working solo. Amir was the exception for her. She unconsciously seemed to lean into him when they shared a room and she seemed calmer. He smirked to himself when he thought about how Jaz was that for Top. Tehran had proven that theory for him especially in the missions that followed where he rarely let her out of sight.

Amir and Preach entered the safe house around sunset and Jaz came down the stairs looking fresh out of the shower and rested. Top met them all in the living room and gave a run down of the afternoon. There was little of note and they went about making their final preparations to exfil the safe house the next evening. Amir made dinner and they all sat around joking when McG got back. Andy was in for the night and had sent him home early. She had known he had his own preparations to make for the next evening too.

Amir set a plate in front of him and he had nodded before digging in to whatever concoction that Amir had created that evening. His mind was still on Andy and the plans for the next evening. He couldn't shake the feeling that today had been too calm. Too easy.

After dinner he grabbed the tablet that had the layout for the house on it and he reviewed the blueprints until he had everything committed to memory, including the corridors in the underground compound. He memorized the cells that the girls were held in, the girls they knew were being held. He reviewed until the words all began to blur together.

"What's up?" Jaz asked sitting next to him on the couch. Normally before a mission stepped off, McG was the jokester and loved to make everyone laugh. He was worrying Jaz because he was the exact opposite.

"Today was too damn calm compared to every other day we've been here," he answered softly. "It reminds me of summer storms back home," he added turning off the tablet and closing his eyes.

He could feel Jaz staring at him and knew she probably agreed with him. He cracked an eye and looked over at her with an eyebrow raised. "How come you didn't tell me about Amir and Andy?" she demanded teasing him quietly.

"If you saw what I saw, you wouldn't be teasing him. He looked like Top in Tehran," he whispered looking her in the eye.

Jaz swallowed at that and immediately regretted teasing Amir the night before. She nodded and left the questions on the tip of her tongue alone. She wasn't sure she wanted the answered to the questions because it could change too much. The comment settled in her stomach and she nodded understanding before leaving him to his thoughts.

Adam and Preach sat at the table and reviewed the plans as well. Preach watched Adam go over every detail, Amir pacing near the window and McGuire sitting on the couch going over plans on the tablet. The only one that appeared calm was Jaz as she cleaned her weapon on the coffee table. They were all in their own headspace and DC was quiet too.

Andy sat in the bathtub surrounded by bubbles and a glass of wine within reach. She wanted to ignore the anxiety building in her chest, but as the night wore on, the stronger it became, and the restlessness became too much. Adrian was asleep when she emerged from the bathroom and walked into the closet. She put on the black gear she knew would help conceal her and she armed herself. She kept her earwig and put the button cam on just to be safe. She wanted to go rogue, but with her brother's team involved, she didn't want to have them rushing in when it wasn't needed.

Amir was on watch when he flipped to Andy's feed and found her creeping down to the beach. He muttered an oath and keyed the mic. "Andy what are you doing?" Jaz and Top looked up from their respective positions in the living room and waited for the answer.

They heard Andy's breathing as she climbed the rock to get to the cave entrance that McG had shown her. "Something has been bugging me all day, so I'm checking on my hunch," she answered as she crept quietly through the tunnel leading toward the main area. "Why would he not have sealed that exit or put cameras? Adrian isn't stupid, he knows this cave is here or his parents know."

"Amir, go. Take Jaz," Top ordered throwing him the keys and taking his spot. His team knew not to go off book without clearing it with him first, and right now his sister was off book.

"Andy, what hunch?" Preach questioned pulling up the cameras of the underground facility. He keyed up all the cameras and Top pulled up Amir and Jaz's body cams. He sent a quick text to McG to wake him up as well. DC was checking the cameras on their end as well.

"The one where I think he does know this tunnel exists and he has a trap set. It was too convenient and too clean. We know his parents are involved, probably got him in the business to begin with, and we've been blindly following the breadcrumbs left for us to follow. He picked me up at that bar, he planned this party, and Dimitri was too forthcoming with information. What if he was hired by Adrian's family and not Peter? I have to check, I promise to keep a low profile," she whispered as she crept down the corridor and tucked into the crevice just before the cavern opened up.

Amir and Jaz pulled to a stop in the park and were racing down the footpath to the cave entrance listening to the conversation between Preach and Andy. Amir's heart was hammering in his chest as they skidded down in the loose scree. He focused on slowing his movements and not bringing attention to themselves when he realized how loud he was being. When they reached the cave entrance, they made sure they had no one following before climbing up and in.

"Amir, slow down," Jaz urged him as his movements were louder than she thought necessary and out of character for the former spy.

Amir took a deep breath as they paused to listen to the movements within the cave. If there was a trap, he had to be smart. He had to think like the people they were hunting. He stopped and looked to the dark ceiling that they had only taken brief note of during the first trek into the cave the night before.

"Did you see anything on the ceiling last night when you went through?" he questioned Jaz as she too slowed and was methodically running her hands over the walls.

"There was nothing to see," she answered pulling out their night vision lens. She looked again at the ceiling and didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Any eyes on Andy yet? Her comms have gone quiet," Top questioned as they moved further into the cave.

"Negative," Jaz whispered as they moved slowly. She lifted her knife and felt Amir do the same. She was worried about running into Andy and startling her.

"Preach, Adam, you two need to get down here," Andy voiced suddenly.


	17. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter that I struggled with for weeks. It was literally written in one night and it came out in a tidal wave that left me emotionally drained and distracted for days wondering where it came from and why. I have been editing this chapter since February and honestly, I'm still not totally happy with it because it wasn't where it was supposed to go. Sometimes though, the characters have a life of their own. I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 16:

Adam looked to Preach and the two of them pulled up a closer look of Andy's body cam. "Talk to me Andy. What do you see?" Adam demanded as he reached for his sidearm.

"They wired the cave entrance with explosives," she answered sounding out of breath. She didn't dare shine a light on anything because she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

"Andy, get out of there. That's an order," he dictated stilling his movements. "Jaz, Amir, you get her out of that damn cave," he added for safe measure.

"Big brother, I'm not a soldier, I don't follow orders," she whispered carefully taking pictures of the wires and where they were connected. "But I'm getting out of here," she assured him as she started backing away from the cave entrance slowly.

Amir breathed a sigh of relief as Andy came into view. She looked concerned and motioned for them to leave the cave. They moved swiftly and silently until the entrance came into view. He climbed down first, followed by Jaz and finally Andy. He silently led them up the hill where Top, Preach and McG were waiting for them.

"Get in the car," Top ordered angrily. Andy looked him in the eye and stood stock still while the rest of the team climbed into the van and SUV. She had never seen her brother mad at her. Not like this. "Andrea, get in the car. Now," he ground out and she set her shoulders before climbing into the back of the van with McG and Amir.

Andy sat silently wedged between both men in the back. She ran over the evening in her head and knew that she had probably pushed the limit with Adam, but she had never seen him so angry. In thirteen years, he had never used that tone with her, but it was also the first time they had been in the field together.

McG and Amir exchanged a look, the night turning eerily into an evening not long ago involving Jaz. It was too close. Andy had gone off book. She had put the team at risk and Top had a thing about his team being put in danger. It was a good thing Preach was driving and Top was in the other car with Jaz, because Andy looked ready for a fight of her own.

Jaz sat beside Top and could feel the anger rolling off him in waves. She wanted to say something, but his grip on the steering wheel and the set of his jaw, she knew it would probably be pointless. She could understand the anger about going off book, experience had shown her that unless permission to improvise had been given, don't do it.

"Top, Andy was right," Jaz stated quietly. He shot her a glare and she swallowed but continued anyway. "Her method wasn't smart, but she's used to being on her own. She has to be her own army," Jaz added thinking back on her conversation with Andy a few days before. Top looked over at her again and she saw his eyes soften a fraction. She had succeeded in taking the edge off his anger but knew that Andy was still going to have to face his wrath. Jaz didn't doubt that she could handle it, but she was also going to stick up for her when she would have done the same thing if positions were reversed.

They pulled up to the safe house and piled out slowly. Andy was the last out of the van and she followed them in with the anxiety she had felt all day gaining traction again. She walked into the living space and stood near the window with her back to the room. She knew she was going to get a dressing down by her brother. It wasn't the first time she had been given one by someone above her pay grade, but it was the first time she had had to justify her actions to her brother. Her gut had served her well in the last four years. She was not going to apologize for trusting what had kept her alive.

"Give us the room," Adam ordered as he stepped into the room and his team looked anxiously between brother and sister.

Andy turned around and straightened her spine, crossed her arms, and looked at her brother defiantly. She looked him in the eye with only the coffee table between them. He mirrored her position and they stood silently as the team slipped out of the room. Amir, Jaz and McGuire heading upstairs and Preach to set up watch over the cameras.

Once everyone had cleared the room, Andy took a deep breath and released her arms to hang by her sides. Adam continued to stare at her and his face was a mask, except for his eyes that were raging with emotions. Whatever it was that he had to say, had very little to do with what she had actually done. This was built up. She was simply the safest person he could let it out on. She was his sister and he knew she would stick no matter what he said.

Adam looked at Andy and he wanted to unleash everything he had been feeling since Elijah's death, Jaz's capture, and Preach's coma. All the anger, the frustration, the helplessness, and the sadness that he had only let out in short bursts and with only a few people. Seeing the dawning understanding in her eyes took a lot of the wind out of his sails, but not enough.

"Don't you ever do that again," he whispered harshly.

"I was protecting the team from walking into a trap," she countered quietly.

"You do not put yourself in those positions when  _my_  team is involved. You do not improvise without clearing it with me first."

"I was protecting your team," she repeated as he grew more agitated. She kept her voice level, despite the slight hurt she felt, not raising her voice to meet his agitation.

Adam moved around the table and stood toe to toe with his sister. He looked her in the eye and repeated, "You became a part of that team when you called me. You do not improvise. That is my job."

"Adam, I made you a promise when you got here. I would not put this team in harm's way. I put the body cam on and the wire, so you knew what was going on. I went in armed and I was careful. I wasn't going to risk the team on a hunch. You sent Jaz and Amir as back up and I appreciate that, but I do this all the time. That is  _my_  job," she insisted once more.

This was apparently the wrong thing to say, the anger and the fear that had finally been cooling off sparked again and Adam saw red. "Then next time do not call me or my team. I won't watch another member of my team be taken, hurt or killed," he bit out barely above a whisper. He stepped away from her and stared at his sister with resignation.

Andy swallowed hard. She wanted to huff away, but the heartbreak in his voice stopped her. This wasn't about what she had done, but what he had already seen. "Adam, I'm sorry I worried you," she whispered because she didn't trust her voice to remain steady. She went to stand in front of him and look him in the eyes once again. She wanted to make sure he heard what she had to say.

"You said to me once that I wasn't alone when you were around. I just wanted to make sure you would still be able to be around. You are all I have left, and you need to understand where I'm coming from. You and the family you built with this team are the people I fight for every day. I fight to make sure you don't have to be called in and put in danger, so you and your team can go back to the families that  _you_  fight for every day. I don't want you to lose more than you already have. One person versus a team of people risking their lives? The math is in my favor on this one. I'm an orphan, I have no kids, and the one person I loved cared more about revenge than me," the emotion clogged her throat and she swallowed to clear it, "The thought of my mistakes costing you any one of these people you care for is more than I can take. So, I'm not going to apologize for doing my job and protecting them. Protecting you," she stated quietly. She took a deep breath and made sure he understood that she was trying to keep him safe.

Adam looked at his baby sister, he hadn't been there when she was growing up, he had never had to protect her from bullies, never had to protect her from their father, and when she had asked for his help she hadn't needed him to protect her. It was just as it had always been, she only needed him to be there, so she wasn't alone. He never entertained the idea that she was the one trying to protect him.

Andy held her brother's gaze for a minute, turned silently and left the room, heading straight for the door. She needed to get out. The room was suffocating her, and she had never meant to make a confession. It revealed too many things, and she didn't want to draw pity, and she was afraid that was what her brother would give her. She had made peace with her choices years before and had been okay with never having the family Preach had so long ago asked her if she wanted. She knew that Adam would have people waiting for him on the other side of this whenever he decided to give it up.

She made it down the block and looked up to the hotel they were using as a cover for Jaz and Adam and she called Marcus to come pick her up. He met her out front and climbed into the SUV without him asking any questions. A few tears managed to escape as she stared out the window on the drive back to the house, but she quickly swiped them away. She had a mission to complete. With or without her brother's team, she was getting those girls out and home.

They had all seen Andy leave from their perch on the stairs, they would never admit to eavesdropping, but they had wanted to be able to offer support where it was needed. If Andy saw them as she exited the building, she didn't let on. They had heard every word she had said to Top. Jaz had glanced at Amir and felt sympathy for him knowing that Andy didn't realize that Amir was still in love with her. They had all felt the weight of what Andy was willing to sacrifice and, on some level, they had always been fighting for the same thing: to protect the people they cared about and who had grown to care about them in return.

Adam felt her leave and couldn't move. He had always thought that if she had ever called him in, it would be to rescue her. She didn't need the rescue, the lives she was protecting needed the rescue. Germany made more sense after her confession. Andy hadn't called for the help, she had been willing to die because she thought no one needed her any more. She never needed rescuing, never needed to be protected and only asked for help when there were others that needed it.

Preach came to stand beside him and he looked to his friend. "Was she right about the trap?" Adam questioned. Preach nodded and showed him the images she had captured of the bombs and the detonators. He knew that she had had bomb disposal training, but he and Preach were the experts and would need to diffuse them before the party the following night.

"Look Adam, all Andy ever wanted was family, but the one thing that she still hasn't learned is that sometimes you have to choose the people you call family because most of the time, they've already chosen you," he offered looking pointedly at the group huddled on the stairs.

Adam looked to his team and realized they had heard the whole conversation with Andy. Amir refused to look him in the eye, McG and Jaz both kept glancing at Amir, and Preach simply looked like he was waiting for them to do something.

"Jaz, McG, get some sleep, you both have to be up early in the morning. Amir hang tight for a minute. Preach, make sure she gets back in one piece," he offered up the orders as a default. He needed the space to think, but first he needed to address the elephant in the room. He motioned for Amir to follow him into the room where they had held Dimitri and looked at his invisible man trying hard to actually be invisible.

"Top, I…" Amir started to say, but Top held up a hand to stop him.

"She never told you how she felt about you going in deep with ISIS, did she?" he asked knowing that if he were in his sister's position, he would have held back as well. She would step aside for anyone if that is what she thought they needed. Amir shook his head. "She probably never wanted you to know that she felt that way. We probably have more in common than we care to admit, but was she right?"

"Yes, and no. When I met her, it stopped being about revenge until the day they made me shoot her," he explained. Adam nodded in understanding and motioned for him to leave the room. Amir sighed knowing that he needed to talk to Andy. He realized that there were mistakes he had blindly made when the opportunity to go after the people who had organized the bombing that had killed his sister. He left the room and kept Preach company for the duration of the evening.

Once Adam was alone, he sat heavily in the chair facing the door and scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to force his brain to focus on the things he could control at the moment. The mission was the important thing as they would be stepping off shortly, but he couldn't get Andy's words out of his head.

_"One person versus a team of people risking their lives? The math is in my favor on this one."_

He had no doubt in his mind that the next night, Andy would do whatever it took to make sure his team got out in one piece. He was no longer the final stop between his team and the enemy, his sister had stepped in front because she felt she had the least to lose. He put his head in his hands and wondered when she had become the one protecting everyone else.

_"I'm not asking you to take care of me. I know you already have two other sisters and that your other sister died because of our father. You don't know me, and you don't need me tagging along interrupting your family. I get it. I have taken care of myself this far and I will continue to do so."_

His answer was clear, it started the day he met her. She had told him flat out that she didn't need to be taken care of, that she didn't want to interrupt his family. He had called the team his family, including the man she had once loved. He had promised her she wasn't alone and that he would always find her. She had been the one to find him and this was the first time she had asked him to return the gesture.

Jaz glanced into the dark room and saw Top sitting quietly on his own. He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't even glance up at her until she was sitting in front of him. He looked at her and it was the first time in all the years she had known him, that she could read clearly the emotions he was feeling.

"You know I realized something tonight," he started softly. He was studying her face like he had that night by the bonfire after Tehran. "In thirteen years of knowing Andy was my sister, I've never told her that I love her. My other sisters I tell all the time, but I've never told Andy that. The day I met her I remember feeling this weight of responsibility when I realized she wasn't lying about who she was and my relationship to her. She was stubborn and called me every night for two weeks; peppered me with questions about my life. After that deployment, I was a mess. She was one of the ones that helped pull me out of it by giving me a purpose. Since then? She has never asked for anything, but for family, but I have never told her I loved her and was proud to have her as my sister." The regret in Top's voice broke her heart a little because she knew he regretted very little in his life.

"She is used to only feeling disappointment when it comes to family. A father and sisters that didn't want her and a mother that died when she was still young. She's used to being alone because alone means you can't be disappointed. If you're alone, there is no one to let you down. You can surround yourself with people you care about and still keep your distance because it is easier than them disappointing you. You are probably the only one in her life who hasn't disappointed her," Jaz offered looking him in the eye. Apparently, he was not the only one that felt the need to confess.

"You aren't alone anymore," he stated quietly, making sure she was looking him in the eye when he said it. She nodded, and they sat in silence while he thought of everything to come the next day.


	18. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for leaving you all hanging. Life got away from me in September and truth be told, October is going much the same way.

Chapter 17:

The next morning, Andy was up before the sun and was met at the door by McG. They were silent as they set out down the beach for the morning run. She felt awkward around McG for their first time since she had known him because she had seen the team there as she left. She breathed through the slight twinge in her knee that was still lingering and finally paused near the cave entrance again.

“Are they taking care of the problem?” she questioned taking a sip of water. She was keeping it all business and pushing any embarrassment, awkwardness down as far as she could. She would deal with the emotions of her decisions later.

“They are trying to take care of it now,” he answered keeping an eye on how she slightly favored her sore knee. She refused to acknowledge that it still hurt, but he was used to that with his team.

Andy nodded and still refused to meet his eye even as they set off back towards the house. He had never seen her this quiet and he was concerned how that would affect the mission later that evening. With his team, he knew every move they made, could anticipate their reactions and match his response. Andy had not trained with them and up until that morning, he had no doubt that she could mesh. Now he wasn’t as confident.

“McG, I promise I won’t let you or your team down,” she stated as she paused at the door to look at him. She looked him in the eye and he saw the conviction that the mission was what mattered to her. He nodded and headed around the front to head back to change and pick up Jaz.

“Andrea, love, when are you leaving for the spa?” Adrian questioned coming down the stairs as she stood at the counter drinking water and relaxing a moment before getting read for the rest of the evening.

“In a couple hours. Joseph has gone to pick up Tasha and we will probably be there for a few hours. We are getting our nails done, and I am going to get my hair and makeup done as well,” she answered as he wrapped his arms around her.

“My mother was thinking about joining you,” he supplied, and Andy had to force herself not to tense.

“Really? She made it pretty clear the other night that she was not a fan of mine,” Andy questioned glancing at the camera in the corner of the glass fronted cabinet.

“She wants to get to know you better. You and the lovely Tasha,” he answered with a smirk. He was saying it that way to taunt her into another fight. She would not take the bait today.

“Will we need to pick her up or will she meet us there?” Andy asked tossing her water bottle in the sink. She was irritated enough to make him smile, but not escalate the fight.

“I will call her and let you know when you get out of the shower,” he answered kissing her on the temple and heading towards his office.

She muttered an oath under her breath before heading upstairs to take a shower and get ready. When she emerged an hour later, she was dressed in jeans and a button-down blouse with her hair lose around her shoulders. Playing the bride was her part for the day and she would smile and play the excited fiancée. She bounced down the stairs and smiled at Adrian as he emerged from the office.

“Well, mother cannot join you after all, she has run into an old friend and has decided you girls didn’t need a tag-a-long,” he informed her.

“Oh, I had already called the salon and added her to the appointment,” Andy pouted slightly. She had in fact made the appointment thinking that the whole thing was a test to see how she would react.

“She will take you sometime next week for a girl’s day. Besides you will have all kinds of time before the wedding. Speaking of which, we should announce the date tonight,” he suggested.

“We haven’t set a date though. Or have you decided something and not told me?” she questioned raising an eyebrow at him.

“How about before next school year? August 17th,” he suggested wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Why August 17th?” she questioned looking at him with confusion.

“Day we met,” he responded bending to kiss her neck where the bruises were covered with makeup for her spa treatments.

Andy thought back to the day she met Adrian and realized it was would be one year that day. The thought of still being involved with the man turned her stomach and she closed her eyes to shield her reaction.

“I have to get going love, I need to pick up Tasha,” Andy stated pulling away and winking at him before walking out the front door and heading towards the car. She was well aware she did not answer his question.

Andy climbed into the backseat of the SUV with Jaz waiting for her, unseen due to the heavily tinted windows. She smiled and kept quiet until they were well out of the driveway. Andy’s smile faded, and she met McG’s glance in the rearview mirror.

“So, mommy dearest isn’t joining us after all?” Jaz questioned glancing over at her.

“It’s a test. I won’t be surprised if she does actually show up while we are there. So, we are going to try and enjoy the pampering like normal women would. How long until Adam and Preach have those bombs out of commission?” Andy answered keeping it all business with Jaz as well.

Jaz and McG glanced at each other in the rearview mirror. The look of a teammate reading another teammate and it caused the anxiety from the night before to start building again. This day was already starting to go sideways, and they hadn’t even made it to the main event of the day yet.

“Tell me,” she ordered shoving her earwig in and placing the button cam on her collar.

“Daddy dearest is in the compound right now. Surveying the girls for bids. They brought someone in to dress them up and they are being drugged,” Jaz reported and felt Andy’s reaction more than saw it.

The more time Jaz spent with Andy, the more she saw the similarities to Top. She kept her reactions locked down but occasionally her mask slipped. She sat back and let the information come to her and didn’t necessarily have to seek out what she needed.

They pulled up to the spa and McGuire opened the door for them and they entered the posh salon surrounded by gardens. Andy greeted the woman at the counter with a hello in Greek and a kiss on each cheek. They spoke rapidly as they were escorted to the day spa area of the salon where Andy and Jaz picked out nail colors and sat in massaging chairs.

Once they were situated and comfortable, their feet soaking. Andy finally relaxed and switched back to English. “I’m sorry about yesterday,” she stated simply. Jaz looked to Andy with confusion. “I know you all heard my argument with Adam,” she added, and Jaz nodded in understanding.

“You are probably the only one that could get away with arguing with him,” Jaz replied with a smile.

“Yeah, well, it helps that I’m not in his chain of command, but I know you all argue with him too,” Andy laughed lightly.

“So, what’s the plan after this?” Jaz questioned, and Andy knew she meant more than the plans for the rest of the day.

“Haven’t decided yet,” Andy answered vaguely. “I’m thinking about getting out,” she added with a sigh.

Before Jaz could ask more questions, the team came in to work on their nails and the conversation returned to bridal talk and dresses and flowers. It was the first experience Jaz really had with another woman planning her wedding; even if it was a show. She’d never been to a wedding and had gone out of her way to avoid them. The dressing up and the flowers and the formality made her itch. In her experience, love till death didn’t exist. But it didn’t mean that other people had not found it. She just didn’t think it was in the cards for her.

Amir was holding down the fort with McG down the road from the salon while Preach and Top worked to diffuse the bombs in the cave. They had been listening and focusing on Preach and Top trying to make sure that the bomb diffusing went as planned. It helped they were not on a tight time crunch. The key was to make sure that even though the bomb would show armed, it would not actually explode. They didn’t want Adrian or his family to know that they had been tampered with it prior to the movement of the girls.

Preach had also been keeping an eye on the girls in the cells. They were given food and water and fresh clothes. It was the best treatment they had seen of the girls the entire week. Although, not long after they were fed, it was clear that they had been slipped something that made them more pliable. He was sick to his stomach watching it, but he wanted to know what they were going to be dealing with when it came time to get them out.

McG knew that he needed to make sure he was with the girls when they were rescued in case any of them needed immediate medical attention and spent the time the others were busy, prepping the med kit. He needed to do something to keep his mind off the unease in his stomach. Again, he felt like everything was going their way too much. He finished prepping his med kit and went to go pick up Jaz and Andy from the spa.

Andy sat beside Jaz who looked none to please about having her hair pulled into an up do for the evening. Andy had insisted and with a glint of mischief in her eyes that had Jaz agreeing while they sat letting their nails dry. Andy had a plan for Jaz that she knew nothing about and it made her grin to herself. She had also convinced Jaz to let them do both their make up for the evening, especially as Adrian’s mother thankfully never showed.

When McG pulled up to the spa to pick up Jaz and Andy, he barely recognized either. Jaz who wore make up when the occasion called for it and her hair pulled back for utilitarian purposes, had a head full of curls

a new smoldering look that was enchanting. He wanted to snap a picture for proof that it actually happened. Andy had a sleeker look, her hair pinned in old Hollywood waves swept over one shoulder.

“Well you two will be sufficiently distracting this evening,” he muttered to Jaz as he opened her door.

“Oh, shut up,” she answered back climbing into the backseat. She felt almost ridiculous, but it was nice to be all dressed up and feminine for once. Sure, she had dressed up for missions before, but she never got to be pampered before having to don the formal clothing. And sure, having her hair tugged into place had been annoying, the after effects gave her an unexpected giddy feeling. She felt girly.

Andy smiled to herself and nodded to McG as she climbed into the backseat with Jaz for the ride back to the mansion. She was looking forward to seeing her brother dressed up and the way he would look at Jaz. In the week that she had spent with the team, it was clear as day to her, that her brother, while professional and responsible for his team, was still a man. A man that had deep feelings for a woman that she respected, even if she knew they would never cross the line that separated them. It broke her heart a little for both of them.

Jaz watched as Andy walked inside and wondered what the other woman had up her sleeve, physically and metaphorically. Andy was sneaky and reminded her a lot Amir when he was up to something. She sat back and tried not to fidget with her hair. She wanted to touch it and see if it felt as soft as it looked when the woman had finished and shown her the final look. There had not been a lot of hairspray on Andy’s orders.

Adam had gotten back to the safe house while McG and Jaz were with Andy and made sure he set the gift boxes from Andy on her bed. He also hung up the garment bag with her dress in it. Andy had sent him a text to remind him to unzip it and let it air out. He had rolled his eyes but done as she had instructed. He had seen a lot of deep red fabric but didn’t want to look to closely. The color would look flattering on Jaz, but he refused to let himself think about that too long. He had also taken McG’s tux to his room, along with his own.

The bomb diffusing had gone well, and he was tired and sweaty, but wanted to prep his gear so that when it was time for him and Jaz to enter the holding area, they could be armed. Preach was also going through an equipment check, prepping his gear. He made sure there were extra mags for both Jaz and Top in case they were needed.

McG entered about an hour and a half before they were scheduled to leave, he was grinning like a cat that ate the canary. Amir raised an eyebrow at him wondering what he was so happy about. Then Jaz walked in behind him.

“Not one word,” she ordered before she quickly moved to the stairs. She disappeared from view before Top could see her and he couldn’t help but grin just like McGuire.

“Why are you both grinning like idiots?” Preach questioned walking into the living area with Top.

“Nothing,” they both stated simultaneously. Preach raised eye brows at both of them and Top frowned.

“I’m going to go take a shower. McG be ready to leave a little early. I want to make sure we can make rounds for facial rec as quickly as possible. An hour in, I want you and Amir to make yourselves scarce and meet up with Preach to start the exfil of the girls. I want them out and away from the scene as quick as possible. I want the buyers taken out as soon as they are away,” he instructed and the men around him nodded before he headed up to get ready.

Jaz stood in the room she’d been using all week and stared at the stack of boxes on her bed. Three were wrapped in ribbons, their contents a mystery. The fourth, she suspected were shoes and went with the mass of red fabric hanging on the closet door. There was a card attached to one of the boxes. Jaz never received gifts from anyone. Not since Elijah. It made her heart ache a bit to think of the last gift he had given her. It had been a silly stuffed bear from their day at the arcade on base the week before he had been killed. It sat tucked away on a shelf in her room on base.

She slipped the card out of the envelop that has Jaz scrawled across it. The handwriting was unfamiliar, but she suspected it was Andy’s. She flipped open the card and confirmed that the gift was indeed from Andy.

_Jaz,_

_So, you never have to go “naked” into a situation ever again._

_Andy_

Curious, Jaz pulled the ribbon off the smallest box. Nestled inside tissue paper was a set of needle sharp hair sticks like Andy had worn a few days earlier. They were simple and made of a dark wood. Jaz grinned knowing she could use them anytime she had to dress up for a mission. They had a velvet bag to keep them protected and she slipped them inside. There was also an elegant comb that had needle sharp tines and tipped with red stones that looked like they would match the dress hanging up. The next box held a black clutch with brass knuckles as the grip for it. Jaz slipped her fingers through the rings and grinned when it fit perfectly. Andy was rapidly moving up the list of her favorite people. The final box held a lacey garter that held a small pistol with an extra clip. There was also a small knife. She would be comfortably armed tonight.

Quickly shedding her clothes that she had worn to the salon, she slipped the garter up her leg and pulled on her dress. It was definitely not something she would have chosen for herself because of how low cut it was, but it was a wrap dress that plunged enough to show cleavage and be distracting while keeping her covered with a full enough skirt that she could hide a few weapons. The hi-lo design afforded her ease of movement and access to said weapons. The red was also a deep red that looked good against her skin tone and made her feel pretty. The final thing that won her approval though, were the surprise pockets she found at her hips.

She pulled the final lid off the last box and found a simple pair of strappy black heals. One strap went across her toes, the other around her ankle. Jaz would not be running in these shoes and hoped that running barefoot would not become a necessity. She slipped on the shoes, packed her clutch with her mace, an extra knife, lipstick, and a cell phone, and slipped the hair comb into her mass of curls. She opened the bedroom door and peaked out into the hallway to see if the bathroom was occupied, but the door was open, and she snuck quickly inside.

She glanced into the full-length mirror and smiled in satisfaction. Top’s sister had amazing taste and she was going to have to thank her for her newest weapon cache. She secured the hair comb and touched up her lipstick and deemed herself ready for the evening.

“Jaz are you ever coming down?” McG demanded from the base of the stairs. Amir, Top and he were dressed in standard tuxes and looked respectable when McG had sent a picture of Top to Andy. She’d sent back a reply questioning if he had seen Jaz yet demanding a picture when it happened.

“Come on Jaz, we need to get you wired before we leave,” Top ordered his back to the stairs as she walked down taking each step slowly.

Jaz was nervous for the reactions she was expecting. They had seen her dressed up, had seen her dirty and covered in mud and blood, but she had never felt pretty. She saw Top’s back to her and she was secretly grateful to see McG and Amir’s reactions first. It was worth it to see their jaws drop. She smirked at them. She also nodded appreciatively looking at both of them in their tuxes. Her eyes settled on Top’s back where the back of his tux jacket stretched over his shoulders and swallowed the thoughts of taking it off him.

Amir and McG had both stilled and gaped at her. They had seen her at her bloody and terrified. This was as far from that as they had ever seen her. McG let out a low appreciative whistle that had Top finally turning around to look at her. Preach entered from the kitchen and stared up at her as well.

Adam felt his throat grow dry and forgot how to breathe, his bowtie suddenly felt like it was much tighter. He looked her up and down, from the way the fabric complimented her skin tone, to the way the dress made her legs look like they went for days, and the cleavage he couldn’t help noticing. Her hair was piled in curls with the wink of warm red stones and his fingers itched to pull out every pin until her hair cascaded around him. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss his sister or strangle her. He had a very strict line that he had drawn, and the way Jaz looked made that line fuzzy.

“Well Sargent Kahn, you clean up nice,” he teased trying hard to keep his voice light as he reminded himself that he was her CO. He gave her his most charming grin while he offered his arm. She playfully punched him with her hand holding her new clutch and then took his offered arm.

“By the way, I think I’m in love with your sister,” she teased back looking serious. This stopped all four men. “She gave me weapons,” she added with a brilliant smile.

“What do you mean my sister gave you weapons?” Top questioned releasing her arm. He glanced Jaz up and down trying to figure out where they were all hidden.

“My secret,” she replied with a grin. She walked over to Preach and watched as he reached up and carefully tugged out a few strands of curls so that it would camouflage her earwig and she slipped on a necklace with a hidden camera.

Adam watched as Jaz put the final touches on her outfit and forced himself to breathe again as he thought about all the places he knew that a woman as lethal as Jaz could hide weapons. He was pretty sure the purse she held was one of them with the brass knuckle shaped handle that he’d felt against his arm when she’d punched him. Jaz always complained that when she dressed up she felt exposed because it was so difficult to hide the standard issue weapons and he was grateful to his sister for once again protecting his team. It was such a small thing, but it mattered.

“Andy just texted,” McGuire mentioned coming to stand at his side. He realized he had been staring and he was grateful to have the distraction.

“Everything good?” he questioned seeing the looking on McG’s face.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. He hesitated, “Top, is she going to be good to go?” McG wondered aloud.

Amir stilled his movements where he had been adjusting his own button cam and testing it with DC. He moved to stand in a tight circle with the two of them and looked McG in the eye. “Andy is the most solid operative I ever worked with and she will get the job done.”

McG heard the intensity in the other man’s voice and nodded in understanding. He glanced to Top, who was staring at Amir with curiosity. Amir was the most anxious that he had seen him since those first weeks with the team. It reminded him of how he used to be around Jaz. Unsure and uncomfortable, but willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. They were going to need him to help anticipate Andy’s reactions, but McG was beginning to wonder if it would be the other way around.

Andy was standing in her closet, carefully pulling on her dress to make sure that all the bruises were hidden from view. The one around her neck had faded enough that light make up and the high neckline of her dress hid the marks. The long lace sleeves shielded the ones on her arms, and also allowed her the ability to hide two knives up the sleeves, secured by the cuff style bracelets she wore. She too had a lace garter that hid another knife and pistol. The hair pin she wore that was shaped like a calla lily hid the sharp point within the confines of her dark hair.

The high neck of the dress clipped into place and left her back open nearly to her waist. It was conservative in the front and sexy in the back. She figured that it would entice Adrian and his father. The dress was tighter in the hips than she would have liked, but she was still able to wear her gun. It was more out of reach because the dress had no slits, but, the knives at her wrists could alter that problem if necessary.

She clipped her earrings in place and slipped the necklace that she’d had Preach fix a camera to around her neck. It was a simple gold chain and was given to her years before. She wore it nearly every day most of the time and reminded her of a very different place in her life.

“Radio check?” she questioned quietly as she slipped on her shoes. She bent to clip the shoes closed and listened as Hannah gave her a positive on the coms. She tested the camera and Noah confirmed positive feedback.

Andy was nervous to see her brother. They had only exchanged a couple of text messages and they had been brief all business and told her nothing of what he was thinking. It didn’t matter though because by the end of the night, she would be free from the man getting ready in the closet next to hers. The girls would be free, there would be a few less bad guys on the street. The thought of those girls seeing their parents soon put the most brilliant smile on her face as she stepped out to greet Adrian.

“My love, you are a vision,” he stated looking her up and down appreciatively. She spun and managed to avoid stepping on the bottom of her dress.

“You look mighty handsome yourself,” she whispered pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Just a few more hours and it would all be over.

“Shall we head downstairs to begin greeting our guests?” He offered her an arm and they descended the stairs together.

McG, Jaz and Adam rode together to the house, Amir would follow ten minutes later. Jaz was trying not to fidget and felt the urge to do a weapon check one more time before they arrived but knew that it would be fine. They were all antsy and ready to move. Preach had already met up with local contacts that the DIA had looped in to the situation and the transport for the girls to a local hospital to be evaluated.

They arrived, and McG stepped out, buttoning up his tux jacket as he climbed out and went around to open Top’s door, and he followed her around to open the door for Jaz. It was all a show, but when Top offered her his arm, she rolled her eyes at McG’s cheeky grin behind Top’s back. She squared her shoulders and pretended to be completely comfortable in the daring dress. Thinking of the fact that she was armed, she smirked and before turning to give Top a brilliant smile.

Adam looked at Jaz and was confused by the smile she shot him as they walked in the door. She had been fidgeting the entire car ride and he had had to keep his eyes forward because looking at her sideways all he saw was her cleavage. She kept tugging the top of the dress to make sure it stayed in place during the drive, but the minute she stepped out of the car and took his arm, she relaxed. She flashed him that smile, and she took his breath away. It was Andy’s fault.


End file.
